


Liu Yangyang's Masterplan

by Kill3rWhal3D1ck



Series: NCT WayV Hogwarts AU [2]
Category: NCT (Band), WAYV, WeishenV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, But are they really strangers tho.., Doyoung is an ambitious apothecary, Established Relationship KunTen, Eventual Smut, Hand Jobs, HenYang Friendship, Jaehyun is a hopeless romantic and a DJ, M/M, Miscommunication, Oral Knotting, Post-Hogwarts, Sex Magic, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:28:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22131787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kill3rWhal3D1ck/pseuds/Kill3rWhal3D1ck
Summary: Yangyang has always wanted to work at an apothecary but he's just about had it with his boss, Kim Doyoung. When Ten jokes that Doyoung needs to work off his sexual frustration, Yangyang concludes that the only way to secure his work-life balance is to get Doyoung a boyfriend- no matter what the cost.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Series: NCT WayV Hogwarts AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593049
Comments: 99
Kudos: 372





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Time-skip from the last fic!

Ten groaned. "I'm so _boooooooooored_."

Yangyang bristled with annoyance. "Can you like. Shut up? You sound like a dying mountain troll.”

“I _don’t_ sound like a dying mountain troll,” Ten said, his tone testy.

It was lunch hour in Diagon Alley where Yangyang worked, which meant it was a virtual miracle that they had managed to snag a table for two at Eddyson's Eatery (a haven of good food at prices affordable to young working witches and wizards).

One would think that being friends for as long as they have, Ten and Yangyang’s friendship would mature with time. Alas, their dynamic had remained unchanged since their student days- in that they bickered like teenagers every chance they got. Kun would say Ten and Yangyang's friendship was comforting in its consistency. "Isn't it nice to know some things never change?" Kun would offer, smiling brightly. Only Kun would be able to say something so corny with his chest.

Kun.

Wonderful, loving Kun.

The root cause of Ten's current misery.

Well to be fair, chronic understaffing was the true root cause. Ten had close to a month of annual leave piled up since the start of his Auror career. The Auror Office almost never had enough hands on deck. Even during blissfully slow periods where Ten tried to squeeze in a week of leave, it was not uncommon for him to receive an apologetic letter from his boss asking if he could return to work early. Ten would feel too guilty to refuse, much to the dismay of his long-term boyfriend Kun.

But that year, for the first time in a long time, the Office finally got their manpower shit together. Which resulted in Ten being practically ejected from his work desk with strict instructions from his boss to clear his overdue leave.

Which led to Ten's present conundrum. When Ten told Kun he had twenty-eight days off work, Kun applied for leave too. Except that, unlike Ten, Kun didn't have a mountain of leave to clear (having taken leave at regular intervals every year like a normal person). Kun still managed to get nine days of leave for the last nine days of Ten's leave. Which meant nineteen days without Kun.

_"Now you know how I feel when I take leave and you don't," Kun had said breezily. "But I'm sure my brave, strong Auror boyfriend can handle a bit of loneliness." Kun had wrapped his arms around Ten's waist and laughed as he kissed away the pout on Ten's lips._

"Kun says I should get myself a project. _To occupy my time_." Ten says the last sentence with air quotes. Yangyang rolled his eyes in response. 

"Number one. I did not agree to spend my precious lunch break with you to hear you _whining_ for half an hour. Number two. He has a point. You have no interests outside work these days except sucking Kun's dick. When was the last time we went to the dance studio together?"

Ten was about to protest but Yangyang pointed a breadstick at him warningly.

"Number three. Not to invalidate your problem, but your problem is invalid. So you have to spend most of your leave on your own or with people who aren't Kun-ge. Big deal. Wanna hear a real problem? Kim. Do. Young. He's driving me up the wall!"

And well. Ten couldn't argue with that.

Yangyang launched into a monologue bemoaning his apprenticeship under Kim Doyoung. Ten has been the audience for several such monogues already. It's weird hearing about Ten's old schoolmate from Yangyang. Ten knew more about Doyoung than he should, considering he hadn't really kept in touch with him after graduation.

According to Yangyang, Kim Doyoung joined his family's apothecary in Diagon Alley after working several years with the Herbology and Horticulture Agency. The Kim family were in the process of expanding their business, due in no small part to Doyoung. He was just as ambitious as Ten remembered.

Expansion meant more workers and Yangyang was one of several new employees hired to make Doyoung's vision a reality. New hires were attached to existing staff to receive training. Yangyang in particular had the questionable honour of being chosen as Doyoung's apprentice. It was no suprise really, considering his stellar grades in Potions and Herbology at Hogwarts. Yangyang's initial excitement at being apprentice to one of the co-owners swiftly dissolved into despair. Doyoung worked him hard. On-the-job skills assessments, sales reports, readings from the Journal of Magical Therepeutics, the list goes on. In this particular monologue, Yangyang detailed how Doyoung's latest project in anxiolytic aromatics wasn't going as planned and how he took out his frustration on Yangyang.

"Is it my fault that ground agrippa and lavender essence are chemically inharmonious? No it isn't!" Yangyang said, gesticulating wildly with his half-finished breadstick.

"You know what his problem is?" Ten offered.

"What?"

"He's not getting dicked down enough. OW! DON'T KICK ME."

Their under-the-table kicking match was cut short by a glare from the waitress and their belated realisation that full-grown adults in their 20s don't have under-the-table kicking matches in public.

"Serious suggestions only, stupid. Is my suffering a joke to you?" Yangyang hissed.

"I'm not stupid, I'm a genius. And I _am_ serious," Ten replied, snatching Yangyang's breadstick from his hand to prevent himself from getting stabbed in the eye by an increasingly vexed Yangyang. "Doyoung is a classic case of overworked careerman whose life is probably lacking in romantic companionship and sexual release. You can't tell me I'm wrong."

Yangyang stuffed a forkful of pasta into his mouth and crossed his arms instead of answering. Even while angrily chewing, he was kinda adorable. It's no wonder Kun was always doting on him.

The younger man swallowed audibly and gulped down his water. Ten could practically see the cogs in his mind turning. "Alright, Mr Chittaphon. What do you suggest I do then?"

"The hell if I know."

Ten screeched as he dodged the fork Yangyang flung at his head. The waitress really did throw them out then but Ten managed to avoid getting them blacklisted by the Eatery through generous tipping and profuse apologizing. A thoroughly irritated Yangyang refused to meet his eye until Ten covered the lunch tab AND got him a scoop of his favourite from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. ( _"Banana-and-peanut-butter ice cream with popping chia seeds! Don't mess up my order!_ ")

"I still hate you," Yangyang said when Ten dropped him off at Kim's Apothecary. Ten had never seen someone look aggressive while licking an ice cream cone but Yangyang managed to pull it off.

"I hate you too," Ten replied, blowing him a kiss before apparating back home.

* * *

The muffled sound of feathers rustling and the sharp tap of beak against glass woke Ten from his nap. Afternoon naps were a mainstay of his new weekday schedule; a luxury he could never afford outside of leave. With a groan, he rolled over to Kun's side of the bed so he could push the window open and let the owl in. He could hear the sound of a letter being dropped onto the covers.

In his half-awake state, Ten felt around the bed for his glasses. What his hand made contact with instead was the letter and the resulting explosive sound was enough to banish every ounce of sleepiness from Ten's body.

" **MEET ME AT FLOURISH AND BLOTTS IN AN HOUR I HAVE A PLAN ON HOW TO GET DOYOUNG LAAAAAID!!** "

A howler. Yangyang sent Ten a fucking howler. At 3pm. Ten groaned from where he lay tangled in his own sheets on the bedroom floor.

Maybe he was starting to regret planting this particular idea in Yangyang's head three days ago.

On the plus side, Ten has finally got a project to occupy his time. Kun would be proud.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you have a Matchstick?"

"Do I have a what?" Ten asked. Of course Yangyang wouldn't bother with greetings like a normal friend. Thanks for coming on short notice, Ten. Sorry for the howler, Ten. I owe you one, Ten. Nope. None of that. But if Ten was honest with himself, he expected this but came anyway. Ten sighed. He kind of deserved it.

"Matchstick," Yangyang repeated, looking at Ten like he was daft. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of it."

"Of course I've heard of it. I'm not living under a rock." Ten retorted. He could feel a headache building. "I just don't need one because? I have a boyfriend??"

"Alright, alright. Just checking. You boomers are so loud."

"We're literally four years apart," Ten said, deadpanned.

They were standing next to the entrance of Flourish and Blotts. Ten peered inside the bookstore, wondering how on Earth a book would hold the answer to Doyoung's dry spell. Yangyang had just finished his shift at the apothecary and he looked a little worse for wear. As the younger man rummaged in his monogrammed backpack (of questionable taste, in Ten's humble opinion), Ten noted the suspicious orange stain on the hem of Yangyang's shirt, his messy hair and his sleeves, wrinkled from being rolled and unrolled several times over the course of the day. Yangyang was the very picture of "rough day at work".

"Found it!" Yangyang exclaimed, handing Ten a small slender notebook.

Ten stared at the unadorned, deep fuschia notebook before looking at Yangyang with an arched eyebrow.

"Didn't I just say I don't need a Matchstick?" Ten asked.

Matchstick was a dating penpal service for witches and wizards and it was all the rage among the youth. Ten would honestly know nothing about it if Kun hadn't gushed to him about how the muggle dating service "Tinder" had inspired the creators of Matchstick and then proceeded to give a veritable speech about the various ways muggle innovation had injected the wizarding world with vibrancy.

Kun was such a nerd for Muggle stuff. Gods, Ten loved him so much.

You simply had to order a free Matchstick notebook, fill in your particulars, preferences and self-introduction on the first page and you'd be good to go. You could even stick photos of yourself to your self-intro. Every subsequent page you turned, you'd be presented with a witch or wizard from the Matchstick inventory that fit your preferences. If you wanted to start a correspondence with them, you'd dog-ear the page. If not, you'd simply keep flipping. A correspondence could only take place if the interest was mutual and the person you dog-eared had also dog-eared you. In the Correspondence section of the Matchstick notebook, you could then write short messages which would appear in the notebook of the person of interest. You could get to know someone this way before meeting them face-to-face.

"Yes you did but this is a crucial step in my Masterplan," Yangyang replied. The way Yangyang said "Masterplan" made it clear that he meant it to have a capital M. A faint sense of dread swirled in Ten's chest.

"Masterplan..?"

"Liu Yangyang's Masterplan!" he declared. He then outlined a summary of said Masterplan with great enthusiasm.

Step One:

Get Ten to join Matchstick.

Step Two:

Get Nakamoto to find Doyoung's soulmate through Ten's Matchstick.

Step Three:

Bring Doyoung's soulmate to Doyoung.

Step Four:

Make them fall in LOVE.

Step Five:

Enjoy not being overworked by Doyoung, who is no longer a lonely careerman as he is now in love.

"This plan-"

"- _Master_ plan."

"This Masterplan.. Do you actually believe this will work?" Ten asked skeptically.

"Well not with _that_ attitude," Yangyang said, completely unfazed. Unfounded confidence was one of Yangyang's weaknesses (or strengths, depending on who you asked). "And it was _you_ who suggested this in the first place."

" _I_ suggested that Doyoung was sexually frustrated. I _didn't_ suggest you hatch a convuloted plan to find him a boyfriend." 

Yangyang shrugged. "Same difference."

Ten could not believe he got out of bed for this.

"Also, why do I have to do it? Can't you join Matchstick instead?"

" _Because_ ," Yangyang said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Matchstick notebooks can sense the user's legitimate age so you can't lie about that shit when you join. And I doubt Doyoung's future boyfriend, whoever he may be, has guys four years his junior listed under his preferences. It has to be someone close in age to Doyoung. And you're perfect cos you two were born in the same year!"

"Besides," Yangyang continued. "If you do this for me I'll help you plan your proposal to Kun."

Ten froze. "Who told you I'm proposing? Did Chungha tell you?"

" _AHA_! SO YOU _ARE_ PROPOSING! I KNEW IT!" Yangyang gleefully stamped his feet, his mischievous eyes twinkling.

This fucking devil.

Ten was torn between throttling Yangyang and slapping himself in the face. Years as an Auror outsmarting some of the most cunning minds in the wizarding world and he was bested by a young apothecary-in-training in two seconds.

Ten rubbed his face with his hand.

The worst part was that Ten really did need help planning his proposal. Chungha had promised that she'd help but she had recently gotten promoted and Ten didn't want to take up too much of her time.

Yangyang gazed knowingly at Ten, mouth stretched in an evil, too-wide smile.

Ten could feel his resolve crumbling.

"Fine," Ten snapped. He snatched the Matchstick notebook from Yangyang's hand. "I'll do it. But if my proposal isn't absolutely perfect, I'm blaming you."

Yangyang smirked. "Deal."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ten's Matchstick profile was up. Yangyang had even brought a picture of Ten to stick onto his self-intro page. ( _"Did you know that the Matchstick notebook can sense if the photo you use actually has you in it? A really clever charm. Ensures that your penpal isn't a weirdo masquerading as someone else," Kun had explained_.) Ten had originally protested having his photo up on Matchstick but Yangyang argued that many users exclude from their preferences users who don't have a photo of themselves.

"What if Doyoung's future bae has that in his preferences? We've got to widen the statistical net!"

"Do you even know what a statistical net it is?" Ten sighed in exasperation.

"Nope. But doesn't it sound fancy?"

Ten eventually relented. At least the photo was a nice one. It was taken last year at one of the dinners Kun hosted in their shared apartment. Ten's face was half-hidden by the seasalt caramel cheesecake he was holding up but his eyes still had an arresting quality to them, if he did say so himself. His photograph winked at him. What a Casanova.

"Step One of my Masterplan complete! And now for Step Two." Without another word, Yangyang pushed past the doors of Flourish and Blotts and strode in.

Ten trailed after him, still completely confused on how talking to this Nakamoto person will help them find Doyoung's soulmate. Or any kind of mate really.

Yangyang weaved through the store like he knew the layout like the back of his hand. He strode down aisles and took sharp turns without second-guessing himself. Which was a feat considering the baffling arrangment of the bookshelves (towering bookshelves, bookshelves that were as high as a small child, levitating bookshelves). Ten sometimes forgot that Yangyang had worked here for a few years before landing the job at the apothecary.

Yangyang stopped abruptly at a small counter located roughly at the centre of the bookstore. Though there were numerous neat stacks of books behind the counter, the counter itself was completely empty, save for a shiny bronze nameplate that read:

_Nakamoto Yuta_

_Bookstore Assistant_

_Corporate Relations cum Membership Services Executive_

The man in question was nowhere to be seen. Yangyang seemed unconcerned. He whispered a spell and tapped the nameplate once with his wand, before hissing "YUTA IT'S MEEEEE!" at the nameplate.

While waiting for Nakamoto to arrive, Ten noticed that the woodgrain of the countertop was actually a map of Flourish and Blotts. Ten could see how the woodgrain shifted, reflecting the self-moving bookshelves and other inventory. He was so engrossed in watching the miniature map that he almost missed the rustle of clothes signalling the approach of someone.

Ten didn't quite know how to explain it but Nakamoto Yuta looked distinctly Japanese. He had longish hair, handsome, slender features and bright eyes. He looked about the same age as Ten and seemed like the kind of person who understood more than they let on.

"Yangyang!" Nakamoto greeted the younger man jovially, exchanging a kind of handshake and a one-armed hug. "We miss you around here. And who is this? A friend?" Nakamoto extended a hand to Ten. "As the nameplate says, I'm Nakamoto Yuta. But just Yuta is fine."

Ten smiled and shook his hand. "Yes, I'm a friend. Yangyang and I used to play on the same team at Hogwarts."

"Aahh school friends! How lovely. A few of my old friends from school are here on vacation so I've been showing them around," Yuta said.

"He's from Mahoutokoro! _And_ he's a Seer!" Yangyang chimed in.

"Whoa," Ten said, impressed. "That's pretty cool."

Ten doesn't often meet witches and wizards who were educated abroad. He wondered how different Japanese Divination is from English Divination.

Yuta chuckled. "I'm not a Seer."

"Sure you aren't," Yangyang replied. He winked at Ten.

It all made sense now. The Matchstick, Yangyang's "Seer" friend. Yangyang wanted Yuta to use Ten's Matchstick to predict which of these Matchstick users would be a good match for Doyoung. It was a wild plan that might have worked- if Yuta was actually a Seer. Ten ran his hand through his hair and fought back a sigh. "Yangyang? Can I talk to you for a second?" 

They let Yuta continue with his paperwork while they huddled behind a shelf of potions texts an aisle away.

"He said he isn't a Seer, Yang!" Ten hissed. He tried to keep his voice down lest Yuta hear them but he definitely couldn't keep the frustration out of his voice.

"That's what he tells everyone but trust me! He's definitely a Seer," Yangyang insisted. "He's a Nakamoto! They're a famous Seer family in Japan. A True Seer in practically every generation! And he's one of them! I've worked with him for 3 years, I've seen him in action. He calls it luck but how the hell is someone _that_ lucky 100 out of 100 times?"

"Okay hear me out. Flourish and Blotts has never had to cancel an outdoor sale due to wet weather and that's because Yuta always chooses the dates and he always knows which days are sunny and which are rainy. He can tell when a customer is pregnant even before they know it themselves. He knows which suppliers will give us the best deals without even reading the bid submissions." When he saw Ten's unconvinced stare, Yangyang continued.

"Okay think of it this way. If he admitted to being a Seer from an old Japanese Seer family, what would happen? Everyone would be flocking to Flourish and Blotts to ask for a reading. Screw that, he wouldn't even be working at Flourish and Blotts at all! He'd be pressured to work in Japan's version of the dusty, creepy Hall of Prophecy! Yuta wouldn't be able to lead a normal life! Who would want that?"

Honestly, Ten thought Yangyang's argument was pretty persuasive. But it definitely needed a huge leap of faith. And Ten wasn't about to spend what was potentially weeks of his precious leave on a plan that required a huge leap of faith. Ten told Yangyang as much.

"Fair," Yangyang said, nodding slowly. Ten was surprised. Yangyang actually listening to reason was a rare occurence. "But would you please just indulge me in this step of my Masterplan at least! If you don't want to see the rest of the plan through I understand."

Yangyang had his hands clasped in front of him and was looking at Ten with those wide, pleading eyes that never failed to get Kun to cook whatever Yangyang's heart desired. Ten groaned internally.

"Fine.."

Yangyang punched the air triumphantly and in doing so almost upended a nearby stack of books. Ten could already tell he'd made a majorly bad decision.

* * *

Yangyang slapped Ten's matchstick onto Yuta's counter. He then pulled out a simple deep blue scarf from his bag before sliding both items towards Yuta who was smiling serenely at him from across the counter.

"I need you to find my boss' soulmate so he'll stop filling the loneliness in his heart with work and finally get off my back," Yangyang said.

Yuta laughed. A loud, happy sound it was. "Compatibility reading via Matchstick. I can't say I've done anything like this before."

"But you can do it?" Yangyang asked, doubt creeping into his voice for the first time that day.

"A Seer would be able to do it," Yuta answered simply, though the corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a mischievous smirk.

"Riiiiiiight.." Yangyang winked at Yuta and nudged Ten as if to say, "SEE? Nothing to worry about."

Ten felt there were several things to worry about but he had promised Yangyang his cooperation, at least for the meantime.

Yuta picked up the scarf and ran it through his fingers. "I'm guessing this is your boss'? What's his name?"

Yangyang nodded. "Kim Doyoung."

Yuta repeated the name under his breath and took a deep, steadying breath. He hadn't asked for Ten and Yangyang to be silent but it was like the situation demanded it. Ten felt like he wasn't allowed to breathe for fear of making a sound. Yuta's left hand was holding Doyoung's scarf while his right hand was laid flat over the Matchstick. For a moment, nothing happened, then Yuta one-handedly flipped open the fuschia book.

When he opened his eyes, the moment was broken.

"This is the one he's been looking for."

Yangyang and Ten scrambled to grab the Matchstick and get a proper look at the user chosen by Yuta. Despite himself, Ten was burning with curiosity. The photo he was met with left a bitter taste in his mouth.

" _JUNG JAEHYUN_??" Ten all but screeched.

"Are you sure?!" Yangyang yelled, bringing his face close to picture in the Matchstick.

How could Ten not be sure? The face of the man who had almost won Kun's heart in school (no matter that Kun had insisted that he had been crushing on Ten long before Jaehyun had asked him out) was seared into Ten's brain forever. Jaehyun's picture was badly lit and his face was half-hidden by the thick scarf he was wearing but Ten would recognise those eyes anywhere.

"Of course I'm sure!" Ten cried, mildly offended that Yangyang would doubt his ability to identify his schooltime nemesis.

"Aaaand that'll be seven galleons," Yuta said, unfazed by the chaos he had caused.

"Seven _WHAT_?" Ten whisper-shouted.

"Seven galleons," Yuta repeated coolly.

Yup. Ten was definitely having a headache.

"Why are you charging so much for a compatibility prediction if you're not even a Seer?"

"I'm _not_ a Seer," Yuta replied while examining his nails. "But if I _was_ , I'd charge seven galleons for a compatibility reading." He met Ten's eyes then. "And you know what they say about readings from uncompensated Seers.." There was a touch of danger to his voice.

Ten gulped. Everyone has heard the stories. People who tricked Seers into delivering prophecies and then leaving without compensation. Or people who captured Seers and forced them to prophecise for their own gain. Rumour has it, every prophecy obtained by deception or by force would play out- but would end disastrously. Nobody was sure if the rumours were real or if they were created by Seers to protect their community from exploitation, but nobody dared to try their luck.

Yangyang was looking at Ten with those pleading eyes again. Figures Yangyang wouldn't have seven galleons on hand.

" _Perfect. Proposal. Or. Else_." Ten punctuated each word with his index finger pressed into Yangyang's chest.

Ten reluctantly pulled out his wallet. Yangyang did a little happy dance.

* * *

A giggle could be heard from behind a stack of bookshelves not far from Yuta's counter.

"You really let Yangyang believe you're some Seer in hiding all these years huh?"

Yuta chuckled, absently stacking his newly acquired seven galleons. "At first it was amusing. And then it went on for so long I'd feel bad for ruining the backstory he created for me with my boring reality."

"You mean the boring reality that your family has more than enough Seers happily employed at Japan's Hall of Prophecies? And that they couldn't care less what you do with your life?" A handsome man stepped out from behind said shelf with an armful of Charms textbooks. Winwin smiled fondly at Yuta.

"I've got to hand it to him though. He did guess correctly that I hide my Seer abilities. But only in the UK."

Winwin giggled again. "Just get back to work you fake imposter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for waiting! This chapter took alot longer than expected but I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> Comments appreciated! ♡


	3. Chapter 3

Jaehyun awoke to the lovely but loud sound of a flute. He reached over to run his finger over the holes of said flute that was playing itself on his bedside table. The moment he opened his eyes, a suprising pang of wistfulness settled in his chest.

Jaehyun had dreamt that he met the love of his life.

Now that he was awake, he missed the man in his dream. Imagine that. Missing someone who he wasn't even sure existed. Jaehyun felt ridiculous just thinking it. Yet, as he went about his morning routine, the feeling of longing was unshakeable.

The man in his dream had felt _familiar_. Like they had met again after a very long time. The man had even teased him for forgetting the last time they saw each other. "It was a trip to the museum!" he had said. "Surely you remember." His dark-haired love even had the tickets to prove it. Perplexingly, in the dream, Jaehyun had remebered the museum date and apologised profusely for forgetting it at all.

Jaehyun wished he could remember his face at least. In the dream, the man's face was a blur. It hadn't mattered at the time though. Not when the man's entire being exuded kindness and affection and a fierce intelligence. Jaehyun was too awed and felt too lucky to be bothered with trifling details like facial features.

He stared ruefully at his ever-reliable Waking Flute and wished for the first time that it was a little less reliable. If only his flute had played a few moments later, he'd have had a few more blissful moments with his love.

It felt silly, mourning over a love in a dream, but nonetheless Jaehyun put out into the universe a silent wish: If the man in his dream truly existed, may they meet again. If not in this plane of living then in another.

* * *

Ten knew his dislike of Jaehyun was irrational and petty but he still couldn't forget how the thought of Jaehyun dating Kun had sent his 17-year-old self spiralling into a confusion of very stressful emotions. It didn't matter that Jaehyun was a complete gentleman about Kun turning down his offer to go to S&C. And it certainly didn't help that Jaehyun had become a celebrity of sorts in recent years. He co-hosted a small segment on the Wizarding Wireless Network interviewing young up-and-coming musicians, earning himself a sizeable following. He even won Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award last year. The bastard.

"Can you hurry up? We gotta cover all the shops in Hogsmeade before nightfall!" Yangyang was five shops ahead of Ten but his annoying voice carried in the crisp evening air. He waved the stack of flyers over his head as he yelled.

Ten waved his own stack of flyers in mock enthusiasm. "Loud and clear!"

"Zoomers," Ten muttered under his breath as he slid another flyer under the door of another store.

They were distributing flyers advertising Kim's Apothecary at Hogsmaede, specifically because the Wireless Wizarding Network where Jaehyun worked was located there. One of the pros of Doyoung's apparent soulmate being a public figure was that he was easy to look up. Ten supposed he should be thankful that this step of Yangyang's plan involved good old fashioned flyer distribution. As opposed to submitting his personal details to the dating pool or parting with a seven galleons for a dubious reading by a maybe-Seer. This simple labour was marginally preferable.

* * *

Jung Jaehyun's gaze switched from the flyer in his hand to the storefront before him and back again. 

This seemed to be the right place.

Kim's Apothecary was not what he had expected. It definitely wasn't a traditional apothecary. None of that slightly mouldy scent wafting out from underneath the door. None of that dim lighting and interior design that strongly reminded one of the early 1900s. Kim's Apothecary was a decidedly modern-looking establishment. The storefront was a single sheet of glass with a door carved into the centre. The elegant calligraphy spelling the words "KIM'S APOTHECARY" seemed to be alive in the glass, one moment proudly sitting above the doorway, the next moment slinking away in a train of letters to dance across the glass, copper-coloured words glinting merrily in the sunlight.

Jaehyun ordinarily avoided apothecaries on account of the aforementioned mouldy scent that never failed to trigger a sneezing fit in him. So far the store gave off no such scent. Jaehyun reminded himself that his sleeping problem was not going to resolve itself so he mentally pulled up his big boy pants and entered.

Upon stepping through the door, a gentle sound of wind chimes echoed throughout the apothecary. Jaehyun looked around but couldn't find a single wind chime. What he saw instead made his mouth gape.

Cramped, narrow aisles with overstuffed containers were characteristic of most apothecaries, but not Kim's. This apothecary was bright and airy. One could actually walk down the aisles without fear of inadvertently toppling over a basket of Chinese Chomping Cabbage. All manner of potions ingredients were carefully arranaged in various baskets and glass jars. Curiously, each basket and jar had a slim deep green ribbon tied to around it in an elegant bow.

"Welcome to Kim's Apothecary. Perishable ingredients on aisles 1 to.. _Jung Jaehyun_? Is that _you_?"

Jaehyun swung around at the mention of his name and made eye contact with the staff behind the counter.

A very handsome staff.

"Kim Doyoung..?"

It had been years since he had last seen Doyoung. And goodness gracious when did he get so handsome? Doyoung had always been good-looking in a cute sort of way back in Hogwarts but now he was _handsome_ handsome.

The youngest Mr Kim was wearing horn-rimmed glasses that accentuated his sharp features. There was a streak of green running along the side-part of his jet-black hair. The moss-green dye job would've looked fake-edgy on anyone else but Doyoung managed to make it look classy somehow. He was wearing a deep green apron over his black cardigan and collared shirt. His cream-coloured pants were at least 2 sizes too big for him and his well-worn pair of leather slip-on shoes was definitely more sensible than fashionable.

Johnny had always said that Jaehyun had a type and that type was cute and dorky. He wasn't wrong.

Doyoung smiled then and-

_Wow_.

What a smile it was.

"What can I help you with?"

Jaehyun blinked. He hadn't realised he had been staring.

"I saw your flyer for sleeping aids and thought I'd have a look." Jaehyun walked over and slid the flyer over the counter top, smiling sweetly at Doyoung in a way he knew showed off his dimples.

Doyoung didn't seem to notice, instead smoothing his hands over the flyer with a pleased look on his face. "Ah! Good to know the flyers actually worked. My apprentice's efforts paid off!"

Jaehyun didn't have time to feel disappointed over Doyoung not being instantly charmed by his TWO (2) dimples. As if summoned, a young man who could only be Doyoung's apprentice strode through the doorway behind the counter. He was wearing a matching deep green apron and carrying a precarious stack of glass bowls-which he almost dropped upon seeing Jaehyun.

Doyoung was there in an instant, steadying the stack with one hand and supporting the base with another.

"Can't you be more careful- _HEY_!"

His apprentice shoved the stack into Doyoung's arms and practically threw himself over the counter to shake Jaehyun's hand.

"WELCOME! Welcome-welcome-welcome!" Doyoung's apprentice had a vice-like grip and was shaking Jaehyun's hand vigorously. There was undeniable mischief in his wide smile and his keen eyes shone with a kind of glee. He looked like a textbook troublemaker.

"My name is Liu Yangyang. _Love_ your segment on WWN by the way. How do you like our humble apothecary so far hmm? See anything you like? Or any _one_ maybe?" At the last sentence, Yangyang flicked his gaze over to Doyoung before giving Jaehyun an exaggerated wink.

Doyoung had settled the stack of glassware carefully on the counter before levelling Yangyang with a cutting look.

Maybe Jaehyun found that look kind of hot. Maybe.

"Don't the Polypody pods need watering, Yangyang?" Doyoung said testily.

"Right away, boss." Doyoung's apprentice gave a mock salute to the both of them before disappearing to the back of the store.

"He seems like a handful." Jaehyun said with an apologetic smile.

"He really is. But he's also very good at what he does so I'm forced to keep him." Doyoung took off his glasses to massage his temple before putting them back on. He looked like he could use a head massage. Jaehyun gave really good head massages, if he did say so himself.

Jaehyun was absolutely, definitely not imagining himself giving Doyoung a head massage.

"So!" Doyoung said, clasping his hands together and bringing Jaehyun out of his thoughts. "I've got just the thing! I assume you're interested in the Soothing Candles in the flyer?"

Jaehyun nodded. 

"Shift work has really messed up my sleep cycle. Alot of people have recommeded a mild sleeping potion but I don't want to have to take potions regularly just to sleep you know? I don't like the idea of ingesting magical elements unless it's really necessary. When I saw the ad for your candles I was like, that sounds doable. Some calming fumes to breathe in and out again."

Doyoung hummed in understanding before making his way to the staircase near the counter, gesturing for Jaehyun to follow. Jaehyun tried not to stare at the ass in front of him as they climbed up the stairs.

The second storey seemed to be an event space slash storage space of sorts. A neat pile of comfy-looking cushions sat in a corner and a few bar stools lined the wall. Cauldrons no bigger than a medium-sized cooking pot were stacked next to a tangle of iron tripod stands. The sliding doors to the balcony were wide open, letting in lots of warm natural light. The usual bustle of Diagon Alley below was barely audible.

Doyoung laughed nervously. "Don't mind the mess. We've been toying with the idea of holding workshops here. That's still in the planning stages though."

"No problem," Jaehyun said, giving him a reassuring smile. "That's really cool. What kind of workshops though?" Jaehyun had never heard of apothecaries conducting workshops before.

Doyoung waved his wand. A cauldron and two cushions slid over to where he was standing just before the balcony entrance. He sat cross-legged on a cushion and Jaehyun did the same. The sunlight streaming in through the open doors glinted off of Doyoung's glasses and made his skin glow. Jaehyun was just a little captivated.

"Oh _all sorts_. I'm rather excited about it," Doyoung replied. He was smiling and Jaehyun couldn't help smiling back, already making a mental note to keep an ear out for Doyoung's future workshops.

"Alright then!" Doyoyng clapped his hands and a silicone bottle floated over from an adjoining room. A light blue liquid was sloshing around in the silicone bottle. "The fun part! This potion is able to identify a combination of scents that are most soothing to you. Most people don't have a good idea of what they like so this removes trial and error on choosing scents. I will then weave these scents into the candle wax. The candle wax consists of our signature base that has mild anxiolytic properties. That base combined with the scents will result in our lovely soothing candle perfectly personalised to you!"

"I'm sold," Jaehyun said, flashing his dimples on purpose again and hoping Doyoung noticed. (He didn't.) "So how do I do this? I drink it?" He holds up the bottle to eye-level, hoping the potion didn't taste too disgusting.

"Oh no no no no," Doyoung replied, shaking his head vigorously. "You irrigate your sinuses with it and I collect it in this cauldron." He pushed said cauldron closer to Jaehyun. "That's why it's in a squeezey bottle, see." He took the bottle from Jaehyun and gave it a light squeeze to demonstrate its pliancy.

Jaehyun eyed the bottle with suspicion. "Sooo.. You're gonna make a candle.. Using potion that I've flushed my nose with..?"

Doyoung whined. He actually whined. A soft, grumpy sound that Jaehyun would be damned to admit was pretty fucking adorable. "Well if you say it like that, it sounds _awful_."

"It really is the most effective method! The potion needs to come into contact with your scent receptors and Yangyang and I have cracked our heads over various alternatives but they won't give the same consistent results and- Why are you laughing??"

Doyoung whined again but Jaehyun couldn't help it. Imagining Doyoung flushing his nose with potion as part of his research was hilarious. And watching him get increasingly flustered was even more so.

"I'm- sorry!" Jaehyun said between fits of laughter. "It's just-" Jaehyun mimed forcefully blowing imaginary potion out his nose and burst into giggles.

"Yah!" Doyoung yelled, colour rising in his cheeks as he started laughing too. He repeatedly slapped Jaehyun's shoulder in an attempt to stop him but his efforts were in vain. "If you don't respect the process you can get out of my apothecary!"

"Okay-okay I respect the process! I respect the process! I'm sorry!" Jaehyun struggled to get his laughing fit under control and held up both his hands in surrender. He knew he didn't look even a tiny bit sorry and Doyoung could see it. The youngest Mr Kim rolled his eyes but Jaehyun could see a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Irrigate your sinuses!" Doyoung ordered imperiously, brandishing the silicone bottle in Jaehyun's face.

"I'm irrigating, I'm irrigating.." Jaehyun did as he was told. The irrigated potion sloshed at the bottom of the cauldron as Doyoung picked it up, clearly pleased.

"Thank you. I'll get started on the candle! You can either come back in about two hours or pick it up tomorrow," Doyoung said. He placed the cauldron carefully atop an iron tripod stand that had smoothly slid over to him.

Something in Jaehyun wilted slightly in disappointment. They were having fun a minute ago and now Doyoung was all but ushering him out the front door. He wanted to stay.

"I can wait," Jaehyun blurted out.

"Wait? Here?" Doyoung's eyebrows furrowed and Jaehyun was hard-pressed to think of anyone who looked just as endearing with a furrowed brow.

Jaehyun nodded in response.

"I'm afraid it might be a bit of a boring wait," Doyoung said. "The candle-making process is quite dull. No flashy potion-making technique or anything like that."

"I don't mind." Hope sparked in Jaehyun's chest. He ran his fingers through his dark blue hair and could see Doyoung following the movement with his eyes. Nice. "We can talk. If you don't mind talking while you work. I don't want to get in the way of anything." 

"You won't be.." Doyoung gave him a calculating look, like he wasn't sure what Jaehyun wanted from him. Eventually it melted into a friendly smile. "Okay then. We can talk."

Conversation flowed easily between the two young men as the light scent of lavender and citrus permeated through the air. They discussed the technical difficulties of incorporating potions into candle wax. ("The heat from the flame usually destablises the potion as the candle burns," Doyoung explained. "You need to create an almost heat-resistant potion which seems sort of contradictory but that's the only way to describe it." Hearing Doyoung talk about his passion for potions had Jaehyun more than a little smitten.) They talked about their careers and their interests (Doyoung could sing! And they both liked cooking!). They laughed over some of their bad dating experiences and funny travel stories.

Maybe it was the fumes from the cauldron or maybe it was the really amazing hot chocolate that Doyoung served him but Jaehyun's heart felt _settled_. He felt comfortable with Doyoung in a way that was uncharacteristic considering that they were little more than strangers. It felt like the beginning of something promising and good.

It was the fastest two hours of Jaehyun's life. As he waved goodbye, a paper bag tucked under one arm, Jaehyun was pleased to see that Doyoung looked sorry to see him go.

The fragrance of Jaehyun's candle lingered on Doyoung's clothes, in his hair, on his skin, long after Jaehyun left the store.

That night, Jaehyun lit his Soothing Candle and managed to drift into slumber an hour earlier than usual.

Once again, he dreamt of love.

* * *

"Duuuude, I thought we agreed. No schemes until I got back from Macau," Hendery said. He was lightly shaking Yangyang by the shoulders but the younger boy looked stubbornly unrepentant.

"But you were gone for a month! I couldn't wait that long! I was suffering, Hendery! _Suffering_!"

Hendery had stopped shaking Yangyang but he had his hands on his hips and looked more than a little annoyed. They had just finished dance practice and were packing up their stuff in the changing room. Yangyang had started the afternoon thrilled to finally see his best friend after so long. Now he was slightly less thrilled. Hendery didn't seem to be as approving of his Masterplan as he had hoped.

"You know you need a second set of eyes whenever you plot something. Need I remind you of your seemingly harmless scheme when we were in Hogwarts? You accidentally got Oh Sehun banned from all Quidditch matches for a semester! And he was Hufflepuff captain!"

"I _unintentionally_ frame Oh Sehun for plagiarism _once_ and you hold it over my head _forever_. How is that fair?" To be honest, Yangyang still felt a little guilty over that. Hendery knew it but he was kind enough not to rub it in this time.

Hendery sighed a long-drawn-out sigh. "You're sure you thought this through? From _every_ angle?" Hendery wasn't mad. He was just worried. They'd been best friends for years and, much to Hendery's dismay, Yangyang had never outgrown his blatant disregard of risk assessment.

"Absolutely, completely, one hundred percent!" Yangyang declared. He smiled his widest, please-trust-me smile that showed off all his pearly whites and hoped for the best.

Hendery sighed again and returned his smile in a resigned but fond sort of way. He threw his arm over Yangyang's shoulder as they walked out the changing room.

"You're a mess so why did I still miss you when I was away?"

"The bonds of eternal friendship?" Yangyang offered helpfully.

"Ew. You're probably right."

* * *

Jungwoo peered through the keyhole of his front door and could barely believe the sight that greeted him on the other side. He immediately unlocked the door with a tap of his wand.

" _Kun_? What are you _doing_ here? It's 4am!"

It was unsettling. Kun was standing at his door with his perfect smile on his face but his eyes were red and his lower lip was trembling ever so slightly. He was clutching a backpack.

"Hi bestie," Kun said softly. A tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't make to wipe it away. "Can I stay with you for a while?"

" _Of course_! Of course. Come here.. Do you need a hug?" Jungwoo replied. His mind was reeling. What was wrong? Did his grandmother finally pass on? Where was Ten? He should be here with Kun right now.

Kun moved so swiftly into Jungwoo's open arms that he almost knocked Jungwoo off his feet. Jungwoo hugged Kun tightly and stroked his hand gently over Kun's pink hair. Kun was shaking.

Jungwoo's front door silently closed itself. For a few long minutes, they just stood in embrace next to Jungwoo's impressive shoe rack. Jungwoo's chest ached as he patiently waited for Kun to calm down enough to talk about what happened.

"I found Ten's Matchstick," Kun said shakily, his voice muffled against Jungwoo's shoulder. "I think he's cheating on me."

* * *

It took some time for Jungwoo to coax Kun into washing up and changing into his sleep clothes. Kun was soon fast asleep in Jungwoo's bed, face still a little puffy from crying. Jungwoo lovingly pushed a few stray strands of hair from Kun's face. A frightening anger simmered beneath the blonde man's skin.

The next day, Senior Auror Kim Chungha received a letter that had been delivered by owl overnight.

_Dearest Chungha_

_Should you get word of a violent altercation between myself and your closest friend- whose name I loathe to even put down to parchment- I implore that you do not intervene. It is in the name of justice. Or whatever._

_Warm Regards_

_The Lovely Kim Jungwoo_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elevator Doyoung was a whole look. You can't change my mind.
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me! I honestly couldn't figure out the direction of this chapter for the longest time.
> 
> Comments appreciated! Hope everyone is staying healthy and taking the necessary precautions during this pandemic. ♡ Support local causes helping vulnerable groups and frontliners! Hoping all this tides over sooner rather than later.


	4. Chapter 4

Kim Doyoung had always been a man on a mission. 

He was a man on a mission long before he was a man and long before he knew how to spell "mission".

It all started when he was 6 years old. Everyday, his preschool teacher would pick a student to read with them in front of the class. The best reader of the week got a gold sticker next to their name on the class Star Chart. Retrospectively, Doyoung realised those stickers were cheap as dirt but at 6 years old those stickers were milestones to be chased with a burning passion.

(For if there was one thing Doyoung was always in excess of, it was burning passion.)

Unsurprisingly, Doyoung got Best Reader of the Week every week. He made some enemies but that was the price of success. His brother would insist that preschoolers do not make "enemies" but preschooler Doyoung knew better. Gong Myung could be naive about such things, despite being a few years older.

"You should let other people get Best Reader of the Week sometimes," said Yoonoh, his classmate.

6-year-old Doyoung scoffed. "That's not how meritomocracy works, Yoonoh. You get Best Reader of the Week if you're the best reader. That's the rules."

"What's meritomocracy?" Yoonoh asked.

Doyoung scoffed again. Yoonoh was dumb and still wanted to be Best Reader? Only clever children could be Best Reader. Everyone knew that. "It's when people get stuff based on how good they are. Not cos they're rich or their dad owns a business or something."

"But your dad owns a business," Yoonoh points out. "Does that mean you shouldn't get to be Best Reader?" Yoonoh didn't mean to be contrary. He was just confused.

Doyoung sputters. "NO!" Maybe Yoonoh wasn't as dumb as Doyoung thought he was. "I'm Best Reader cos I'm the _best reader_!"

"Oh. Okay." Yoonoh still didn't understand meritomocracy but it was okay. At least Doyoung understood it. "Can you teach me to read better then? So I can become Best Reader too?"

And well. Doyoung couldn't resist another mission.

Two months later, Yoonoh got Best Reader of the Week for the first time ever.

* * *

Qian Kun hummed softly as his mind crawled towards wakefulness. He kept his eyes closed, relishing the moments where he existed as a peaceful mess of flesh and bones and not like, a fully functioning adult with responsibilities and commitments.

_Commitment_.

It all came crashing down on him in a heartbeat.

Kun emptying the pockets of Ten's coat so he could send it for dry cleaning. Finding Ten's Matchstick notebook folded lengthwise stuffed in one of the pockets. Realising that a page had been dog-eared. Setting the notebook down on their bedside table, feeling oddly calm. Grabbing a backpack and packing a few days' worth of clothes, almost on auto-pilot. Opening a toileteries drawer to grab a small tube of toothpaste and pausing at the sight of his own hair dye collection.

Remembering how he only started having confidence to venture beyond brown hair dyes after he started dating Ten.

Kun had gone through almost every shade of brown there was in his teens, convinced that anything wilder than tea-coloured hair wouldn't suit him. Ten didn't think so. Kun remembered huddling close with Ten on Ten's childhood bed, watching a drama on Kun's muggle laptop. They had only been dating for a few months at that point and Kun was still flush with the excitement of teenage romance. A new character with white-blonde hair walked on-screen.

"I bet you'd look sexy with white-blonde hair," Ten had told him casually. As if he was stating a fact rather than an absurd opinion. Because it was absurd. But a secret part of Kun stuttered with joy regardless. He had always wanted to try white-blonde hair.

A few days later, teenage Kun had turned up at Ten's house with white-blonde hair and a nervous smile. That afternoon, Ten kissed Kun within an inch of his life, the laptop lying forgotton on Ten's desk.

The memory shattered Kun's veneer of calm and the dreaded beginnings of ice-cold grief came pouring in.

Stupid hair dyes and their stupid memories.

Kun sank to the floor as sobs wracked his body and tears flooded his vision. The new bottle of dark blue hair dye Kun had been meaning to try just made him cry harder.

_Ten was cheating on him._

Ten was the love of his life and Ten was cheating on him and the knowledge slashed deep gouges into Kun's heart. Kun cried and cried and wished the pain could leak out of his heart with his tears that dripped onto the cold bathroom tile.

The hours between apparating to Jungwoo's house last night and falling asleep on his best friend's bed were a blur.

Something wasn't adding up though, Kun thought, as he shifted in the soft bed he woke up in. He was sure he was at Jungwoo's but the bed he was lying on didn't feel like Jungwoo's firm bed. Kun's grieving, sleep-addled brain was trying to rub two braincells together to figure it out until-

An arm fell across Kun's waist as a familiar warmth cuddled him from behind.

"Are you awake, babe? Where did you go last night? Missed you," Ten murmured, pressing a dry kiss to his neck.

Kun froze.

He couldn't believe it. He'd had it under control for years. For him to slip up last night of all nights.

Maybe Fate really did hate him.

Kun had a sleepwalking problem since childhood, which unfortunately evolved into a sleep-apparating problem in adulthood. His dreams would sometimes get so vivid that destination, determination and deliberation would take care of themselves and he would apparate while asleep. Thankfully, his sleep-apparating never ended in splinching of any sort.

Kun had dreamt of Ten after falling asleep in Jungwoo's bed. And lo and behold, he had sleep-apparated right into their shared bed the next morning.

As if it wasn't bad enough that Ten had betrayed him, now his subconscious thoughts had betrayed him too.

Kun's mind was racing a mile a minute and his chest was tight. He wanted to escape this situation. He wasn't ready to confront Ten about his Matchstick notebook. Not yet.

Oblivious to Kun's internal struggle, Ten reached behind himself and grabbed his Matchstick notebook from their bedside table.

"Babe, I completely forgot to tell you about this. You won't believe what Yangyang dragged me into last week," Ten said, pulling apart from Kun so he could prop the notebook between them.

Kun's heart stilled. This didn't seem like the beginnings of a confession that Ten was unfaithful behind Kun's back. Hope flickered in Kun's chest as he silently turned over to face Ten, while keeping his own facial expression carefully neutral.

Ten launched into his story recounting Yangyang's Masterplan. By the end of it, all the sadness and anxiety accumulated over the last twelve hours had seeped out of Kun's body. A single tear of relief fell from his eye. Ten- who had until that moment been animatedly relaying his tale- was stunned.

"Nooo..! Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Ten said. His voice was soothing but his face crumpled in worry. Ten moved to wrap Kun in a tight hug, squishing the notebook underneath him in the process. Kun let out a sound between a laugh and a sob. Tears were running down his face. He was so relieved and so, so happy. He returned Ten's hug and burried his face in his shoulder.

"I'll tell you later, I promise. It's silly. You'll laugh at me when you hear it," Kun said when his vocal chords finally cooperated with him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Ten replied softly. He still sounded awfully confused. "I won't laugh. I swear. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it now?"

"Later," Kun said, pressing his lips to Ten's. Quick and soft.

Ten hummed, smiling softly. “Later,” Ten repeated. He gently wiped the tears from Kun's cheeks with the hem of his sleeve, mentally filing away a reminder to get Kun talking about what upset him. His wonderful boyfriend had a bad habit of keeping his feelings bottled up inside. Then they kissed and kissed again, languidly and without a care in the world. 

"This wasn't how I pictured you crying today," Ten whispered as they broke the kiss.

"You pictured me crying today?" Kun asked. Now it was his turn to be confused.

Ten grinned his wide devilish grin. "Ready for a surprise?"

Kun nodded, beaming. He loved surprises and Ten knew that too.

"Then let's get dressed and washed up! We leave in fifteen minutes!"

* * *

The problem with your best friend dating an Auror was that Aurors always did _the most_ when it came to security.

Which did _not_ work in Jungwoo's favour when he was trying to rescue Kun from the clutches of his unfaithful boyfriend.

He had last seen Kun asleep in his bed but when Jungwoo awoke the next morning- slightly sore from a night of sleeping on his narrow sofa- his best friend was nowhere to be found.

Jungwoo came to two conclusions.

A) Kun had returned home in the early hours of the morning to “work things out” with Ten.

B) Ten had kidnapped Kun from Jungwoo’s home.

In both situations, Kun would likely need support, which may or may not come in the form of Jungwoo punching Ten in the face. Kun and Ten’s apartment was Jungwoo’s best bet on finding them. Alas, he had been knocking for the better part of ten minutes and no one had answered the door. If they weren’t home, Jungwoo needed to get inside the apartment and get some clues on where they might be, failing which he would wait in their living room until Kun and/or Ten returned. 

The break-in was proving to be tricky though.

Not only was it impossible for anyone other than Kun and Ten to apparate into their apartment, their Near-Impregnable Front Door was also sealed by a terribly clever locking spell.

Well, Kim Jungwoo was _cleverer_ and he was an intermediate-level curse breaker thank you very much. He would figure out the locking spell if it was the last thing he-

“Jungwoo? Is that you?"

Jungwoo recognised the voice immediately and stiffened from where he was crouched in front of the Qian-Leechaiyapornkul residence. After a moment’s hesitation, he stood stiffly, ran a hand through his blonde fringe and turned around with a wide smile plastered on his face.

“Why Chungha,” said Jungwoo, with all the lightness of someone commenting on the weather. “I thought I’d expressly asked for you not to intervene?"

“Jungwoo, what is going on? I got your letter and I came right over,” Chungha said. A lock of hair had fallen out of the bun sat atop her head and it was the most harried Jungwoo had ever seen her. He almost felt apologetic for inconveniencing her this way.

Almost.

“Ten is cheating on Kun,” Jungwoo said simply. He was getting increasingly vexed. Kun had come to him in the dead of night in distress and departed the next morning without a word. It was unlike him to leave so abruptly when he knew Jungwoo would worry. Kun hated making others worry. He was considerate to a fault. Kun was likely not thinking clearly and Jungwoo needed to find him. And talking to Chungha (who was likely a Ten apologist) was slowing down the process. 

“Cheating on Kun?” Chungha blinked owlishly once, twice. "What are you talking about? They just got engaged.”

“WHAT?” Jungwoo shrieked. It was worse than he thought. In the hours Kun had been out of Jungwoo’s sight, Ten had managed to manipulate him into tying the knot. “How do you know-?”

“ ** _Jungwoo?_** ”

The blonde man halted mid-sentence at the sound of Kun’s voice. The voice was distant and distorted and slightly echoey but it was unmistakably Kun’s.

“ _Kun_? Where _are_ you?” Jungwoo asked, looking frantically around trying to find the source of Kun’s voice. 

Kun’s gentle laughter seemed to be coming from inside Jungwoo’s bag. Jungwoo practically ripped open his messenger bag and upended it. His belongings scattered every which way on the carpeted corridor but what caught his attention was an electronic device that Jungwoo had forgotten he had ever put in his bag.

Kun had gifted it to him and called it a kind of fruit watch. Which was bizarre as it in no way resembled a fruit and it didn’t tell the time. Muggle inventors have the weirdest names for their inventions. The device was a black plastic square attached to a wrist strap. Or at least it was supposed to be black. The plastic was currently lit up with Kun’s good, smiling face. Jungwoo scrambled to pick it up and held it close to his face.

“KUN? Where are you? I woke up and you were _gone_ and I was so bloody worried and Chungha tells me you’re engaged??” Jungwoo could hear his volume climb higher and higher but he didn’t give a shit. “You know I love you with my whole heart and I respect your decisions but is this really the best thing? In light of.. recent events?”

“I’m so so sorry bestie.. I’ve caused you so much trouble, I’m so sorry. Wait, are you at our apartment? We will apparate right over!” Kun replied.

Before Jungwoo could register the implications of “we” a loud popping sound was heard and Kun came barrelling in Jungwoo’s arms to give him a tight hug. Ten stood behind Kun, grinning. Boy, did Jungwoo want to wipe that grin off his face. He was already reaching for his wand, thinking that if he moved fast enough he might be able to stun Ten before the Auror and his Senior Auror best friend would notice. Kun interrupted that train of thought by grabbing Jungwoo's face with both his hands.

“I know your murder face when I see it!” Kun declared. "Before we jump into anything, I just want to say it was a misunderstanding and the Matchstick was for Yangyang’s project and nobody’s cheating on anyone! I’m sorry for making you worry. Will you please come inside so I can explain everything and make us all pancakes and we can fawn over my wedding ring?”

One second.

Two seconds.

Jungwoo's entire weight sagged onto Kun as the fight left his body. “Well this will make quite an engagement story won’t it?” Jungwoo murmured into Kun’s ear. "It seems my dramatic over-protective side got the better of me this time.” Jungwoo let out an embarrassed chuckle.

Kun just laughed, easily holding up the taller man. “You weren’t over-protective at all. Just normal protective, given the context,” Kun assured him. “Though you did manifest it with your usual dramatic flair.” Jungwoo chuckled again at that.

When the blonde man straightened up a moment later, he shot Ten an apologetic grin over Kun’s shoulder. Ten shook his head and waved it off, letting Jungwoo know there were no hard feelings. Jungwoo flicked his wand and all his scattered belongings floated neatly into this bag. “Well let’s get inside then! I want to properly congratulate my dearest friend and his fiancé and I do _not_ want to do that in this godforsaken corridor.”

An hour and several happy tears later, the three wizards and one witch were settled comfortably in the kitchen.

“I’ll have you know that I still have all this murderous rage inside me with nowhere to go,” Jungwoo said around of mouthful of pancake. “I might have to have a word with Yangyang about this.”

“Don’t bother,” Ten replied, smiling serenely as he sliced some strawberries for Kun. “I’ve already spoken to him.”

“Really? When?” Kun asked, puzzled.

“I had some time.”

“Don’t be too stern with him okay?” Kun said. “It was honestly nobody’s fault.”

Ten sighed, exasperated but fond. “First of all, he’s not a kid anymore. He’s an actual working adult. Can you please stop babying him?”

Kun swiped a slice strawberry from Ten’s fingers and popped it into his mouth, grinning cheekily at Ten. “Never.”

Chungha laughed. “When have you ever successfully convinced Kun to stop babying anybody, Ten?”

“Also never,” Ten replied, shrugging. “But I thought a wedding ring might change that.”

“You wish.” Kun planted a wet kiss on Ten’s cheek and Ten squeaked, blushing furiously.

He touched the spot on his cheek that Kun had kissed. It still felt unreal, that Kun had said yes. Some would say that it was a given, considering how long they had been together, but that didn’t stop Ten’s heart from thundering in his chest when he got on one knee in the middle of the stone-dotted field where they had their first dance as teenagers. It had been years since The Annual Midsummer Social & Commencement Celebration of 2019 but Kun still managed to make him feel like he was seventeen again experiencing love for the very first time.

Growing up pureblood with magic as the norm, Ten had never really understood the wonder that magic inspired in Muggles. But Kun. Kun helped him understand how it would feel like. Magic felt like fascination at the mystery of being. It felt like awe when faced something greater than yourself. It felt like a universe of beauty. 

To Ten, Magic is Kun.

* * *

Hendery was scrolling Instagram on his iPad when the iPad's surface rippled like water and Yangyang’s harried expression materialised on the screen.

Yangyang actually using the magicked Apple Watch Kun got him to communicate? He must be in real trouble.

“ _HENDERY_? CAN YOU HEAR ME? UGH DOES THIS FRUIT WATCH EVEN WORK?” Yangyang was full-out yelling.

“Yes-yes I can hear you! What happened?! Are you okay?!!” Hendery’s heart rate spiked. He hated seeing his friend so panicked.

“Oh thank gods,” Yangyang breathed. “Kun’s emergency fruit watch actually works. Who’d have thought?”

Kun had collected a bunch of faulty Apple Watches and layered several charms in them before giving them out to his loved ones. Meant to be used in emergencies, Kun’s magicked Apple Watches ran on a flat battery and could connect the owners of the watches to each other instantly and over long distances, eliminating the need for owls, the Floo Network or an internet connection.

The downside was that each interaction could only be a minute long with a half-hour interval between interactions.

“Why are you using the Apple Watch, Yang? And quickly please. There’s a time limit on these things,” Hendery said, trying to keep his voice level.

“Umm. Promise not to get mad.” Yangyang already had his million-dollar smile out and Hendery’s heart was sinking. This can’t be good. “My Masterplan might not have been as air-tight as originally thought. I made Kun really upset- completely on accident!- and Ten he...”

“He..?” Hendery prompted, impatient. Time was running out.

“ _He turned my work apron into a port key and I may or may not be in Singapore and I don’t know how to get back_ ,” Yangyang said in one quick breath.

“ _SINGAPORE_? Are you sure it’s Singapore or-“ Hendery couldn’t finish his sentence cos his iPad screen went blank. He slumped in his seat and let out a loud, long groan.

Ten was short-tempered but he wasn’t cruel. That Ten thought Yangyang deserved to be transported across the globe, to a place so far away that it’d be impossible to apparate back, Yangyang must’ve hurt Kun really badly. Hendery sighed.

Half an hour before he could re-establish contact with Yangyang.

He grabbed a quill and started on an effusive apology letter on behalf of Yangyang to Yangyang’s boss. Already Hendery was planning how to bring Yangyang back to London. Yangyang had a mild allergy to Floo powder. Regular Floo Network travel within the UK would leave Yangyang sick for a week and International Floo Network travel was almost impossible for him. There was nothing for it. He’d have to bring Yangyang back through good ol’ reliable Muggle air travel. 

As he sent off his apology letter with his owl, Hendery thought how his pureblood best friend was lucky that Hendery was a halfblood and therefore well versed in Muggle life. Yangyang wouldn’t know how to book a flight and wouldn’t have the Muggle money to do it even if he did know how.

He packed some essentials and dutifully set off for the Liu family home. He’d have to sneak in to get Yangyang’s Muggle passport (which Yangyang got on Hendery’s insistence and thank gods for that).

Oh the things Hendery did for their friendship. 

Hendery hadn’t expected his weekend to be a Yangyang retirieval mission but life worked in weird ways. Thank gods Singapore had direct flights to London.

* * *

Kim Doyoung had always been a man on a mission.

He could neatly track major changes in his life by recounting his personal missions through the years. His missions varied greatly, from galvanising his peers into winning House Cup for Slytherin in fifth year, to mastering every one of his grandfather’s recipes when his grandfather was sick, to getting published in the Journal of Magical Therapeutics, to landing that job at the Herbology and Horticulture Agency, to helping his closest cousin Donghyuck heal after his first big break-up. His missions saw equally varied levels of success (Not great: Slytherin didn’t win House Cup that year. Great: Donghyuck was back to breaking hearts a year post-break-up) and as much as he hated not always achieving the outcome he wanted, what was more important was the existence of a mission itself. It was important to have a goal, always.

His current mission, which occupied his mind in every waking hour and sometimes accompanied him in his dreams, was to re-invent his family's apothecary business. The details of said mission were numerous and painfully technical but the big picture was certain.

It was hard being a man on a mission sometimes.

Take today for example. What an awful day it was. Yangyang- his exceedingly annoying but exceedingly competent apprentice that he had come to rely on more than he realised- had to take an emergency leave of absence for reasons he refused to specify. This resulted in Doyoung having to run the apothecary on his own on a very busy Saturday. He was almost certain he still had a bit of snot stuck to his hair from when an elderly customer sneezed at him at close quarters. Doyoung shuddered and tried not to think too hard about that.

It was so busy that Doyoung could hardly spare a thought for lunch when it came around.

He was perfectly fine with working through lunch though. Gods knew how many times he had done it. Sure, he was terribly hungry but that was besides the point. The point was, the apothecary was teeming with customers and sustenance could wait.

Unfortunately, Jung Jaehyun didn’t seem to agree.

“You need to eat,” Jaehyun said. His newest acquaintance was seated on a stool at the counter as Doyoung pored over his documents. Jaehyun would show up at the apothecary on odd days, sometimes to run errands for his friends, sometimes to pick-up a remedy for himself, but always to chat with Doyoung. Ordinarily, Doyoung would be irked by disturbances during work hours but Jaehyun.. Doyoung didn’t mind Jaehyun’s disturbances too much. He was pleasant and radiated a gentle, playful aura.

Yangyang would describe that playfulness as “flirting” but Doyoung was not inclined to take Yangyang’s word on such things.

“I _need_ to replenish the stocks for the Erumpent tails. Flu season has got everyone whipping up their Sneeze Suppressant balms,” Doyoung replied, already writing down said task on his To-Do List for the day. He had already struck a couple of tasks off the piece of parchment and was feeling quite accomplished. 

“You haven’t even had breakfast.” 

“How did you know that?” Doyoung asked, finally looking up from his list to stare at Jaehyun in bewilderment.

“I didn’t but now you’ve confirmed my suspicions.” Jaehyun winked at him. It caused a peculiar fluttering feeling in Doyoung’s chest but he ignored it.

“Why are you even here?” Doyoung sighed. “It’s the weekend. Aren't there are more engaging things for you to be doing on a weekend?”

“I’m going to ignore the part where you pretend you don’t like having me around,” Jaehyun said breezily. “Also, I’m plenty engaged.” He proceeded to prop his elbows on the counter and cup his face in his hands. He was staring at Doyoung with a playful glint in his eye. It was adorable. Doyoung rolled his eyes.

“Tell you what, I’ll cut you a deal,” Jaehyun said. "I’ll order you soup for lunch. It’s not a proper lunch but it’s quick and easy to eat. And after you get off work, you can come over to my place and I'll fix you a proper dinner.” He smiled then and maybe Doyoung was mistaken but Jaehyun looked a little uncertain. Doyoung couldn’t imagine why. 

“How is this a deal for you?” Doyoung asked, puzzled. “I get free food and you get..?”

“Your company on a Saturday evening of course,” Jaehyun was giving him a too-wide grin, as if to mask his nerves. “Unless you aren’t free today..”

Doyoung considered this. He wasn’t free. Not really. There were reports to go over and the store needed sweeping and there was laundry waiting for him back home and he was in the middle of adjusting the measurements of a new aspiration-resistant food additive for people with swallowing difficulties. But Jaehyun was asking so earnestly. And he was _sweet_. And it was nice that somebody wanted to cook for him. It made Doyoung feel warm and cared for.

Gong Myung did say that he needed to get out more..

“That sounds.. really lovely. Are you sure though? I don’t want to be an inconvenience.” It was Doyoung’s turn to feel uncertain, though he couldn’t quite figure out why.

“Not at all!” Jaehyun said loudly. A few annoyed customers gave them a side-long glance. Jaehyun waved at them apologetically. “Not at all,” he repeated to Doyoung, softly this time. “It would be my pleasure.”

Jaehyun had one of the best smiles, Doyoung thought. He had two dimples too. Why was Doyoung only just noticing that?

It was hard being a man on a mission sometimes, especially with such a kind and handsome distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for patiently awaiting this chapter! Work has been tough this pandemic, and I had to rearrange this chapter so many times. But it's finally here. Also, there will be some risqué content in future so you can look forward to a change in rating if you're into that!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Comments appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE TURN BACK TIME MV IS EVERYTHING! I'M SO PSYCHED! My fave B-side tracks so far are Electric Hearts and After Midnight. Still disappointed that there are no ballads in this album but it's okay! Awaken the World is a really listenable album overall. ^^

“No,” Doyoung said.

“ _Come on_ ,” Jaehyun pleaded, laughing as he tugged the sleeve of Doyoung's shirt. “It’s just a short journey! Over before you know it.”

“No,” Doyoung repeated, apprehension in his voice. “Don’t you have a fireplace? Why can’t we use the Floo Network to get to your apartment?”

“It’s an _apartment_ , Doyoung. In a high-rise. Apartments don’t have fireplaces,” Jaehyun explained patiently. Realising that Doyoung was honestly ill at ease, Jaehyun stopped his tugging and regarded Doyoung with a mixture of affection and concern.

After delivering a hearty chicken soup with cornmeal dumplings to Doyoung (and making sure he ate it), Jaehyun had returned home in the early afternoon, presumably to prepare for Doyoung’s visit. Though Doyoung would admit it to no one, he was excited at the prospect of spending the evening at Jaehyun’s. In the hours between Jaehyun's departure and the apothecary's closing, Doyoung expedited his tasks as much as he could and even managed to do a quick sweep of the place. He was looking forward to dinner with Jaehyun- up until the moment Jaehyun showed up outside the apothecary on his broomstick. Logically, Doyoung knew this was the best and most efficient way to Jaehyun’s home. Apparating was definitely not an option as Doyoung didn’t trust himself to apparate to places he had never been to before.

Logic didn’t stop him from being stubborn though.

“I don’t like heights," Doyoung finally admitted, albeit reluctantly. He crossed his arms over him chest and pressed his lips into a thin line. He knew full-well his resistance to riding a broomstick was bordering on child-like but he didn’t care.

Just like how he didn’t care that Jaehyun likely thought him a loser for being terrified of heights. 

Well.

Maybe Doyoung cared a tiny bit. 

“I’ve managed to avoid riding a broomstick for a solid two years and I’m not about to start now." Doyoung continued to eye Jaehyun’s broomstick warily. It certainly wasn’t a _bad_ broomstick. Jaehyun’s broomstick had a slim ash handle and was obviously well-loved and well-maintained. Not a tail twig out of place. The words "Moontrimmer 77” were painted along the handle in iridescent, almost-clear, silver-coloured lacquer. Naturally, it was a Quidditch-playing broomstick. Doyoung was hard-pressed to think of anyone who used to play Quidditch in school who owned a regular broomstick now. God forbid the ex-keeper of Gryffindor own a family-friendly Bluebottle.

“Is that the problem?” Jaehyun asked, gently. “I’ll be really careful and take it slow. No sudden turns or ascending. If you want, you can close your eyes and I’ll talk to you the entire ride to distract you."

Doyoung chewed on his bottom lip. He supposed it wouldn’t be _too_ awful if the ride was slow but the thought of flying after so long still made him nervous.

“Is it too late to decline your decline invitation now?” Doyoung asked half-heartedly with a nervous laugh.

“Of course not! You’re welcome to decline at any time, I won’t be hurt.” The way Jaehyun smiled warmly at Doyoung made Doyoung believe him. It wasn’t an extraordinary statement but Doyoung still felt touched that Jaehyun prioritised his comfort this way. “I just don’t want you to go home hungry is all.”

And well. Doyoung didn’t want to go home hungry either.

Doyoung took a deep, steadying breath. “I’ll have to hold on to you cos I’m scared of falling off. And you'll have to go really slowly. I’m serious. The minute I think we’re going too fast I’m apparating right off your broomstick and back home,” Doyoung said. He couldn’t believe that he was agreeing to this.

“ _YES_!” Jaehyun shook his clenched fist in the air triumphantly.

Doyoung laughed despite his nerves. The younger man seemed so earnest in wanting to have him over and cook for him. That warm feeling Jaehyun sometimes stirred up in Doyoung's chest (with increasing frequency, oddly enough) returned again. 

Doyoung really hoped he didn’t regret this.

* * *

“I am filled with nothing but regret,” Doyoung said, almost to himself, his voice monotonous.

He was seated on Jaehyun’s couch, damp hair in disarray, shivering slightly and looking altogether quite miserable. Jaehyun resisted the urge to coo at him and felt a little guilty for finding Doyoung completely adorable. He continued his task of wrapping the thickest, softest blanket he owned around Doyoung’s shoulders.

Much to Jaehyun’s surprise and Doyoung’s utmost dismay, it had started raining partway through their airborne journey. Rain pelted down on them like ice-cold bullets and they were soaked through in seconds. Doyoung’s arms were tightly wound around Jaehyun’s waist the entire time. Jaehyun could hear Doyoung’s colourful swearing even above the din of the storm. They had arrived at Jaehyun’s apartment soaked to the core. The blue-haired man ushered Doyoung into his bathroom right away to dry off and change out of his waterlogged work clothes into one of Jaehyun’s pyjamas. Jaehyun himself changed in his bedroom. Their wet clothes were now magically spinning away in Jaehyun’s Laundry Cleaner-and-Dryer-Upper closet.

“I’m really, really sorry,” Jaehyun said. He had probably apologised twenty different times already but he still felt bad. “The rain came out of nowhere. WWN’s weather forecaster hadn’t anticipated it it at all."

He had just finished wiping Doyoung’s glasses and proceeded to place them carefully on on his face. Doyoung softened at the gesture and let out a resigned sigh. “It’s not your fault, Jaehyun,” Doyoung assured him.

“Our clothes will be dry in half an hour,” Jaehyun said, smiling wanly at the man on his couch. "You can apparate back home after.”

“Apparate back home after?” Doyoung asked, tilting his head in confusion. “What about dinner?”

“Dinner?” Jaehyun repeated, perplexed. He was sure Doyoung had had enough of their ruined evening. The possibility of him still wanting to stay for dinner hadn’t even crossed his mind. “You still want dinner? Here? With me?”

“Of course,” Doyoung said, like it was plainly obvious. “I didn’t endure a broomstick ride through a storm for nothing. I really was seriously considering apparating home when the storm hit. But then you would’ve had to ride through the storm alone and that would’ve been unkind. I thought, well since I was brave enough to ride a broomstick, I can be brave for a little while longer to weather a storm for my new friend.” Doyoung paused then, completely oblivious to how Jaehyun’s heart was leaping in his chest.

“Besides, I’ve been looking forward to your cooking,” Doyoung added, a huge grin on his face.

“Right,” Jaehyun, said faintly, still reeling from the knowledge that Doyoung already considered him a friend. Reserved Doyoung who was the sort of person who took ages to warm up to someone new, trusted Jaehyun as a friend in the space of little more than a week. Jaehyun’s heart was singing.

“Can I get you some tea while you wait?”

* * *

Doyoung clutched his mug of slightly sweet oolong tea with both hands as he walked around Jaehyun’s modest living room, examining his personal effects as Jaehyun himself was bustling in the kitchenette. Doyoung was sufficiently dry and warm and had thus discarded the blanket on the couch. He paused in front of a collection of photos on the wall opposite the kitchenette. Some photos were framed while others were neatly stuck to the wall with washi tape and stickers. It was cute, Doyoung mused. 

One photo in particular caught his attention. It was a young boy, no older than 6 years old, sitting on the bottom of a playground slide.

Doyoung knew this boy.

The realisation stunned him. He barely noticed Jaehyun approaching and jumped when he told Doyoung that dinner was ready.

“Do you know him?” Doyoung asked, ignoring Jaehyun’s call to dinner and pointing at the photo of the preschooler. 

Jaehyun chuckled. “I would think so. It’s me.”

“No it’s not,” Doyoung insisted, annoyance flaring. "This is Yoonoh. I know Yoonoh. He was my friend in preschool.”

“I know. I’m Yoonoh. I changed my name to Jaehyun while I was in the States.” The humour in Jaehyun's eyes shifted to surprised comprehension. “You don't know who I am..”

“What do you mean?” Doyoung’s gaze turned sharp. “Don’t fuck with me, Jung.”

Jaehyun held up both hands in surrender. “I’m not fucking with you, I promise! You can see my identification certificate if you want. It proves I changed my name when I was 10.”

“We went to Hogwarts together! For _years_!” Doyoung exclaimed. His tea was sloshing in his cup and came dangerously close to spilling over in his agitation but Doyoung paid no heed. “I’m not good with faces, especially after so long and- in all that time why did you never tell me who you were? I thought I’d lost contact with you forever!”

Jaehyun opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, then opened it again. He was floored. He wanted to explain but there was no way of explaining that didn't make him sound like a coward.

“I.. when I first came to Hogwarts after moving back from the US I was excited to see you but.. You didn’t seem excited to see me and.. I didn’t know if it was because you didn’t recognise me or because you were mad at me from before,” Jaehyun said. He felt himself shrinking under Doyoung’s cutting gaze. “I kept working up the courage the talk to you but I always lost my nerve at the last minute. I know it doesn't make much sense but it made sense to me at the time and.. next thing I knew it’s been more than a year and it felt too late to approach you about it anymore.”

“I absolutely cannot _believe_ you!” Doyoung spat. He set his mug down on the coffee table with a loud clatter. “I’m gonna hug you now,” Doyoung said, while poking Jaehyun squarely in the chest.

“What? Okay-“ The words barely left Jaehyun’s mouth before he had arms wrapped around his waist. Doyoung’s hug was crushingly tight and Jaehyun didn’t know if he heart was about to burst out of his chest from the force of it or from the way his pulse was racing a mile a minute.

_Doyoung was hugging him!_

“Of _course_ I was mad at you but we were stupid kids making stupid promises so I was a stupid sort of mad but I wasn’t _mad_ mad,” Doyoung said, his voice so close to Jaehyun’s ear. “And then you go and avoid me at school just because you were too worried about how I’d react so now I’m _proper_ mad!” Doyoung hugged him tighter.

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun said, a little breathless.

“You'd better be! You’re lucky dinner smells amazing!” Doyoung exclaimed, pulling back so he could face Jaehyun. “Also, I demand we go to the National Museum of Magical Transportation and Transference! The moment our schedules align!”

Jaehyun nodded vigorously in agreement.

“You’re like, more than a decade late,” Doyoung mumbled. He pulled Jaehyun into another hug, this time less crushing and more resting his weight against Jaehyun, as if exhausted. “I missed you.”

Jaehyun wordlessly held him like something precious. He felt even more apologetic than before but he also felt like all the joy receptors in his brain were alight.

Maybe the evening wasn’t ruined after all.

And maybe he was a little in love with Doyoung.

* * *

“Do you really have to move?”

Doyoung had asked Yoonoh this question a billion times already. He knew the answer but he couldn’t help but hope that he’d get a different answer if he just asked often enough.

“I have to,” Yoonoh pouted.

“You can stay with me. Gong Myung is going to Hogwarts soon and his room will be empty. You can take his room. I’m sure he won't mind.” Again, Doyoung already knew the reply to this.

“I already asked my parents. They said no..”

Doyoung and Yoonoh were doing a hippogriff puzzle together in the Table-top Games corner. It wasn’t a baby puzzle. It was a puzzle for the older kids and it had smaller pieces. Yoonoh was really good at puzzles. He had a trick where he would do the edges first before filling up the inside.

“But you’ll still be here for the class field trip right? To the museum? You _promised_ we would go together,” Doyoung was whining now. He knew the answer to this too. Yoonoh would be moving in three days. The field trip was next week. There was no way Yoonoh would be around for the trip. Doyoung was feeling sad in ways he didn’t understand. The United States was very far away- Doyoung had checked on a map. And Gong Myung said his owl wouldn’t be able to bring letters that far. There were other ways to get letters to the United States but it would take weeks and to a 6-year-old, that sounded like forever.

Yoonoh hesitated. He hated disappointing Doyoung. Before his brain could catch up with his mouth he blurted, “I’ll be there.”

Doyoung’s face lit up at this and he did a little dance in his little wooden seat. Yoonoh laughed heartily at his friend.

(Yoonoh didn’t regret his words until he was alone in his almost empty room that night, his boxes of belongings casting an accusatory shadow over his bed.)

Three days later, Doyoung’s parents brought Doyoung to the docks to see Yoonoh and his family off. The docks were a flurry of activity, full of witches and wizards and magical people who all had somewhere to be, carrying all manner of oddly-shaped and impossibly large (and sometimes, curiously sentient) luggage. Yoonoh’s family would be riding a huge magical cruise ship all the way to the United States. Doyoung was too distracted by the scale of the ship to be sad. According to Yoonoh, the ship could go underwater without sinking and appear like a wall of mist to passing Muggle ships. Doyoung happily waved goodbye to Yoonoh and his family as their ship sailed further and further from shore. Doyoung hadn’t felt sad like he had expected. He was pleasantly surprised. Maybe Yoonoh moving wouldn’t be as hard as he had thought.

He was wrong.

On the day of the field trip, everything came crashing down on his little 6-year-old heart all at once. He cried and screamed and refused to go to the museum if Yoonoh wasn’t coming. His mother tried to soothe him but it just made Doyoung cry harder. In the end she wrote a letter to his preschool teacher calling in sick.

When Doyoung had tired himself out after his tantrum and lay in his bed, pretending to be asleep, he overheard his mother telling his aunt that he “wasn’t adjusting well to Yoonoh’s departure”. Doyoung didn’t know what that meant. He sniffled as he tried to bury himself deeper in his sheets.

* * *

Jaehyun watched as Doyoung devoured his bowl of carefully prepared pork bibimbap. Doyoung had immediately complimented Jaehyun’s cooking and it was almost embarrassing how pleased Jaehyun was at the praise. Jaehyun gladly offered Doyoung seconds without him asking. Doyoung beamed at him, his cheeks slightly pink.

“It’s so hard to find good Korean food,” Doyoung said in between mouthfuls of rice vegetables. “There are some great Korean restaurants around but it’s much too expensive to be eating out all the time you know?"

“I can pack some for you to bring home,” Jaehyun volunteered. “I cooked too many servings anyway. And um.” Jaehyun hesitated. “You can come over anytime you’re craving Korean food. I can whip something up.”

“What? Oh no no no,” Doyoung replied. Jaehyun’s heart sank, thinking he overstepped.

“I’d be coming over every other day then!” Doyoung laughed, a loud and happy sound. The younger man let out a small sigh of relief. “You need to let me cook for you too sometime. To return the favour. I’m a grown adult, I know how to cook. I'm reasonably good at it too. I’m just lazy sometimes."

"Kim Doyoung, you are the least lazy person I know," Jaehyun said, his tone serious.

Doyoung chuckled at that. "If you could tell that to my father, I'd really appreciate it." He had a grain of rice stuck to his chin and Jaehyun had the wild urge to kiss it off. He stifled that urge by stuffing his mouth with bibimbap.

"Well he doesn't say I'm lazy per se. But he does think I could be trying harder at certain things," Doyoung added, wiping his mouth and chin with a napkin. "Eating regular meals, for example."

"I think I can agree with your father on that," Jaehyun teased. Doyoung smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Finding someone new is another example," Doyoung added. "He keeps trying to set me up with the nieces and nephews of his friends."

"Yeah?" Jaehyun's heart shrank a little. "How has that worked out so far?"

"I usually just go to get my father to stop pestering me about it," Doyoung replied. "The latest guy is nice though. Eunwoo. I think we're meeting a third time soon for coffee."

" _Eunwoo_?" Jaehyun asked, eyes wide. "I have a friend named Eunwoo. Is his surname Cha?"

"Oh my goodness it _is_ , actually," Doyoung exclaimed. "What a coincidence!"

Jaehyun felt like burying his face in his arms. "Yeah," he said with a pained smile. "What a coincidence."

* * *

"You see, Jae. This is what happens when you keep skipping out on our get-togethers,” Mingyu said, munching noisily on some corn chips. “Eunwoo told us about Doyoung weeks ago but you weren’t here to hear it."

Jaehyun groaned. “I skip out only 10% of the time and you lot will never shut up about it.”

Jungkook raised a brow at him while sipping his Butterbeer through a straw. Who even drinks Butterbeer with a straw?

“Fine, maybe it’s closer to 20% of the time,” Jaehyun admitted. “But you guys meet _all_ the time. I’m pretty sure most friends do not meet every day for a week.”

“Excuse _you_ , Jung,” Mingyu said, pointing at him with a corn chip. “We only met that often in the third week of June and it was because Jungkook’s son was having his first birthday!”

“Are you saying Jungkook’s son doesn’t deserve to be celebrated on his first birthday?” Eunwoo exclaimed with a hand to his chest, scandalised.

“I wish we'd stop referring to Jungkook’s lizard as his son.” Jaehyun was weary of his friends already.

“Yoongi is not just a lizard. He is an emerald-dust day gecko,” piped Jungkook, clearly pleased that the conversation had turned to his favourite topic of conversation. “He also appreciates the birthday photoshoot we did for him around London."

Jaehyun took a long swig from his bottle of Daisyroot Draught in lieu of replying to that.

They were seated at a bar and bistro in a part of town popular with young witches and wizards. It was their first time there. The drinks weren’t particularly good and the lighting was a bit too dim for Jaehyun’s taste but it had an available table on a busy Saturday night and the prices were reasonable and that was good enough for them.

Jaehyun always thought it was a bizarre twist of fate that brought the four of them together. Jaehyun was at Witch Weekly’s corporate building for an interview and had struck up a conversation with Jungkook, who at the time was an earnest part-time barista at the building’s chic cafe. Jungkook swore that Jaehyun reminded him of another staff member and dragged him up to Finance to introduce him to Eunwoo. Jaehyun was reluctant to admit that the resemblance was unnerving. Then Eunwoo’s colleague Mingyu happened to walk by as they were gawking at each other and asked if they were brothers. The rest was history. 

Speaking of history.

“Can’t you guys keep me updated on what I miss? You know, so I don’t have to hear from a guy I’m kind of interested in that he's been dating Eunwoo?” Jaehyun whined.

“Are you honestly suggesting we take meeting minutes at our get-togethers? Should we cc you in an e-mail at the end of the evening too?” Mingyu retorted.

“What’s a cc?” Eunwoo asked.

“The hell if I know,” Mingyu replied, shrugging. "They mention it in those Muggle sitcoms my girlfriend loves."

“Oh I love Muggle sitcoms,” Jungkook added softly.

“Even if I were to keep a written log of my dating history, I wouldn’t know where to start.” Eunwoo said this casually, but there was an air of haughtiness in the way he said it that made Jaehyun roll his eyes internally. Cha Eunwoo was handsome and desirable and completely confident in the fact. Mingyu would argue that Jaehyun was very much the same and well. Jaehyun didn't appreciate being called out like that.

“Alright alright,” Eunwoo said, throwing an arm over Jaehyun’s shoulder. He was drinking some vile concoction of redcurrant rum and chocolate liquor and Jaehyun could smell it in his breath. “I’ll put you out of your misery. Because I am kind and thoughtful that way.”

Jungkook nodded sagely in agreement. Mingyu gave Jungkook a questioning look. 

"The entire time we were having coffee together yesterday, Doyoung couldn’t shut up about you,” Eunwoo continued. Jaehyun kept his face straight but his heart was doing somersaults in his chest. “After I confirmed that I knew you, it was like ‘Jaehyun this’ and ‘Jaehyun that’. I don’t even think he noticed he was doing it. Usually I’d be a little offended to go on a date just for the guy to be talking about some other guy. But Doyoung is such a cutie pie. I couldn’t be mad at him.”

“Besides,” Eunwoo said as an afterthought. “I get the sense he doesn’t think of what we’re doing as real dating. More like play dating. Playdates! Like we're toddlers!” He giggled then. Eunwoo had definitely had too much to drink.

“You’re blushing!” Mingyu screeched, almost knocking over the basket of corn chips as he pointed at Jaehyun. “This loser has fallen hard!”

“I'm not a loser!” Jaehyun’s protestations were drowned underneath the sound of his friends laughter. He couldn’t help but laugh along. Maybe his friends weren't _completely_ unbearable.

“Word of advice, Jae,” Eunwoo said after managed to get his giggling under control. “If you want to date Doyoung, you have to tell it to him straight.”

Jungkook snorted. “ _Straight_.”

Eunwoo sighed. “Straight _forward_. You need to be straightforward with him. Doyoung is smart as fuck but he wouldn’t know romance if it poked him in the eye.”

Straightforward?

About his feelings?

Jaehyun gulped.

* * *

Hendery sighed. "I refuse to look at you right now but I can feel you pouting at me, Yang."

"Pleeeaaase bring me to Singapore! I'll pay for the whole trip!" Yangyang whined.

It had been about three weeks since Hendery had rescued Yangyang from the Southeast Asian country. The embarrassing nightmare of bringing Yangyang to the airport, through immigration, onto the plane and through immigration again was not an experience Hendery wished to repeat. Yangyang remarked loudly at everything (sometimes insensitively and always obnoxiously) and was so painfully non-Muggle that Hendery was red with second-hand shame half the time. 

"You could barely pay me back for our return flight to London," Hendery replied exasperatedly, finally turning to face Yangyang. "And like, I'm pretty sure Ten portkey-ed you to Singapore as some sort of punishment. You enjoyed yourself way too much there. Do you know how hard it is to track you down in Geylang with nothing but Kun's emergency Apple Watch? When you keep _moving_? I told you to stay put!"

"Okay, fair criticism," Yangyang replied. "But! The food was so _gooood_! And the prices! Thank goodness Ten tucked in a wad of Singaporean Muggle money in my work apron. He sucks but he's not evil."

"Maybe I wished he was evil and didn't leave you any Muggle money. That way you wouldn't have been literally eating your way through Geylang."

Yangyang gasped. "That's so mean.."

"You're right, it was," Hendery said. He hated himself for being a softie for the apothecary's apprentice.

"It's okay, I forgive you," Yangyang replied benevolently, wrapping his best friend in a hug.

"Can we please take a trip to Singapore next month?"

Hendery's cry of frustration could be heard through the walls of the dance studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black Lives Matter! Donate if you can, sign petitions and educate yourself.


	6. Chapter 6

“Mmmm what’s that smell?” Gong Myung asked, peeking into the kitchen and rubbing his eyes blearily.

“Good morning!” Doyoung chirped. “Just cooking some ttukbaegi-bulgogi. And frying some fishcakes for a side dish.”

Gong Myung took a seat at the island in their family kitchen. “So that’s why you were marinating beef last night. ”

“Yup!” Doyoung said. “Marinated some mushrooms for you too, so you can have a vegetarian version. You want some for breakfast?” He started slicing some extra carrots and green onion. 

“I’d love that.” Gong Myung smiled appreciatively at Doyoung. “So, what’s the special occasion?”

“It’s been two months since Jaehyun I met! Or rather, since we re-connected.” Doyoung placed another earthenware bowl on the stove. When the water was sufficiently hot, he added his mushroom “bulgogi”, crisp carrots (cut matchstick-thin), and sliced onions and green onions. Doyoung was glad he had the foresight to soak an extra portion of starch noodles an hour ago. "Jaehyun is working today so I’m surprising him during his lunch hour. He’s cooked for me so many times and I almost never manage to return the favour. So I thought, what better day to return the favour than today!” Doyoung smiled to himself. Jaehyun is going to love his ttukbaegi-bulgogi.

Or at least, Doyoung hopes so.

No, no. He’ll definitely love it.

“I didn’t know you were together! And for so long!” Gong Myung said, grinning brightly at him. “I’m happy for you, Doyoungie. You deserve someone who makes you happy.”

“Together?” Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Oh like romantically?” He waved the thought away as his face warmed. “No, no, no we’re not like that. We’re just friends.”

“Oh. My bad. I guess I misunderstood.” Gong Myung smiled apologetically at him. He looked disappointed, for some reason.

There was silence between them as Doyoung added starch noodles to the now-boiling earthenware bowl. He let it boil for a another two minutes to let the noodles cook before adding bean sprouts and a generous portion of enoki mushrooms that he knew his brother loved. While waiting for it to cook some more, he scooped a bowl of rice and arranged a few side dishes in front of Gong Myung, including the freshly-stir-fried fishcakes. Gong Myung thanked him softly.

"You’re the only the friends I know that celebrate the anniversary they met.” His brother said this casually but there was a slight stiffness to his features that betrayed intention behind his statement. Doyoung couldn’t pinpoint what that intention was.

“Really?” The younger Kim brother carefully cracked an egg over Gong Myung’s vegetarian ttukbaegi-bulgogi. He racked his brain over friends he knew who also celebrated friendship anniversaries and came up empty.

“Yeah. Anniversaries are usually a couple thing. I could be wrong though,” Gong Myung said, not meeting his eye. “Oh my goodness it really smells so good, Doyoungie.”

Doyoung beamed at the praise. “Doesn’t it? I hope Jaehyun likes it. Do you think it’s weird to be cooking a cold weather dish in summer?”

Gong Myung smiled at Doyoung but his brows were drawn together. It was the same look he had whenever he was trying to make Doyoung understand something. Like when he had to coach Doyoung through some really hard transfiguration essays in school. Or when he was tutoring Doyoung in Business Arithmetic. 

“It’s from you, Doyoungie. I’m sure he’ll love it.”

* * *

All through the journey to Hogsmeade, Doyoung thought about what was left unsaid during his conversation with Gong Myung. His brother had immediately assumed that he and Jaehyun were a couple. Why would he think that?

Doyoung supposed he did spend a lot of time with Jaehyun since meeting him. But how could he not? There was so much to catch up on. It helped that their friendship had a surprising ease to it. Doyoung didn’t feel self-conscious the way he usually did with new friends. And Jaehyun’s openness and agreeable disposition made Doyoung feel close to him. No longer were their meet-ups confined to the apothecary. After their trip to the Museum of Magical Transportation and Transference, it seemed natural to continue spending time outside. There was no shortage of exhibitions or performances or openings that Jaehyun was invited to and always, he would extend that invitation to Doyoung too. Busy as he was, Doyoung often couldn’t make it but he tried to free up his schedule as much as he could to accompany Jaehyun to these events. It was a world away from what Doyoung knew and it was exciting. Once, they watched poets recite poetry as wisps of smoke from the floating candles formed fantastical shapes that wove through the captive audience. Another time, they walked through a literal forest of a photography exhibition where people were encouraged to climb trees of ink and parchment and pluck at the leaf-shaped photographs, each tree bearing it’s own narrative in a cohesive and dynamic canopy of images.

They would always meet Jaehyun’s friends at these events, either intentionally or coincidentally. There was Mingyu whose girlfriend Jiwoo was a spoken word poet and smoke sculptor. He could never stay to chat for long as he was always helping out in one way or another in making sure his girlfriend's performance went smoothly. Despite that, Mingyu always made sure Jaehyun and Doyoung got the best seats and would manage to slide in a snide comment or two just to ruffle Jaehyun’s feathers and make Doyoung laugh. There was Jungkook who loved aerial dance, an extremely dangerous-looking endeavour that had Doyoung covering his mouth (and sometimes his eyes) while dancers performed acrobatic feats in the air, swinging between airborne broomsticks. While on solid ground, Jungkook was a sweet and carefree young man who was a proud father of a gorgeous emerald-dust day gecko, that Eunwoo insisted was an integral member of Jaehyun's friend group. Eunwoo himself seemed to be the unofficial host of every event they went to. He flitted effortlessly between groups, introducing people to each other and smoothing the way for conversation with his easy smiles and well-placed anecdotes. Eunwoo was always happy to see Doyoung accompany Jaehyun and often bemoaned how insufferable Jaehyun was whenever Doyoung couldn’t make it. Doyoung laughed at Eunwoo’s obviously exaggerated re-tellings of Jaehyun’s antics and it always had Jaehyun pink in the ears. 

“He’s like a lovesick puppy, Doyoung,” Eunwoo said. He was smiling sweetly but his eyes flashed with mischief. “You have _no_ idea how _difficult_ it's been for Mingyu, Jungkook and I.”

“I am _not_ a lovesick puppy,” Jaehyun replied half-heartedly, knowing there was very little he could say to stop Eunwoo once the man had decided that Jaehyun needed to be shamed.

Doyoung just laughed, throwing his arms around Jaehyun in a quick, tight hug. “He’s not a lovesick puppy,” Doyoung said. “There was just so much nonsense to iron out with my suppliers that we couldn’t meet for more than a week? It’s weird when we don’t get to meet for so long.”

“Weird like you miss him?” Eunwoo asked with a knowing smile and an arched eyebrow. Sometimes, Jaehyun wished he could transfigure Eunwoo’s voice box into a sheep’s voice box so that his friend would just _stop talking_.

“Yeah,” Doyoung replied, unfazed. “Of course I miss him.” It was like Doyoung had no idea how his words made Jaehyun’s heart skip a beat.

Eunwoo hummed noncommittally as he gave Jaehyun a small but wicked smirk. “Odd. Jaehyun usually doesn’t get too torn up when he can't meet me and the boys for more than a week- OUCH! DID YOU JUST PINCH ME?”

Jaehyun held his arms up in surrender, a smile playing on his lips. “Wasn’t me. Must’ve been a mosquito or something.”

Doyoung was already laughing, slapping Jaehyun’s shoulder.

Being out and about with Jaehyun made Doyoung realise how much he missed being social. Now he was learning new things and meeting new people, all with Jaehyun's hand at the small of his back and Jaehyun's kind eyes meeting his in pauses between conversations. Doyoung also appreciated that the blue-haired man noticed whenever he was getting socially exhausted and would discreetly ask if Doyoung wanted him to take him home. So many small but thoughtful gestures just to help him feel comfortable and welcome. Doyoung found himself nursing an exceptional fondness for Jaehyun in what felt like no time at all.

The bespectacled man was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed that he was already in the lobby of the Wizarding Wireless Network building, staring blankly at the floor inventory.

Doyoung couldn’t remember which floor Jaehyun worked at.

Before he could chastise himself for not checking this important detail before coming here to surprise Jaehyun, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Doyoung turned to see a tall man smiling kindly at him. He was dressed in a comfortable-looking deep blue sweeter and black tailored dress pants. Save for the well-worn sneakers on his feet, this man looked ready for an interview. 

“Can I help you?” he asked, his voice deep and.. familiar?

“I’m really sorry to bother you. I’m looking for Jaehyun? Jung Jaehyun? He works here as a deejay,” Doyoung replied. He shifted the heavy bag he was carrying from one hand to the other. Suddenly carrying earthenware bowls all the way to WWN didn’t seem like such a great idea. 

“Ah, you’re in luck! Jaehyun is my colleague. I can bring him to you,” the tall man said, grinning. Doyoung almost sagged with relief.

“Thank you so much! Really appreciate it.” Doyoung used his free hand to shake the man’s offered hand before pushing his glasses up his nose.

“No problem. I’m Johnny by the way.” Doyoung’s eyes widened.

“You’re Johnny Suh!” Doyoung exclaimed, a hand over his mouth. “I listen to you and Jaehyun’s segment all the time at my office. Jaehyun’s talks about you in his work stories.”

Johnny laughed. It was a full and almost rhythmic laugh that Doyoung had heard countless times before on the radio. Hearing it in real life felt unreal. “He talks about me huh? All good things I hope?”

“Definitely,” Doyoung replied, nodding.

Johnny led him towards the lobby's Wall of Curtains. Like the name suggested, it was an huge stretch of wall covered almost entirely by mauve curtains. Gleaming bronze fixtures situated two metres overhead held these curtains that had large numbers printed on them in solid white. The curtains seemed to be made of a light material and were swaying gently as if disturbed by a continuous breeze which was interesting, considering there were no doors or windows beyond the curtains. 

“Jaehyun and I are on the sixth storey,” Johnny said, walking towards the set of curtains with a huge 6 printed on it. "I’m guessing that’s lunch?” Johnny asked, pointing to the bag Doyoung was carrying.

Doyoung nodded. Together, they stepped through the curtains and entered the sixth storey. A cool tingly feeling danced across Doyoung's skin where the curtains touched him. He shivered slightly at the odd sensation.

The sixth storey was a massive office space with cubicles arranged in neat rows. Variously coloured document carriers were levitating close to the ceiling. Some were zipping rapidly through the air, hurtling towards their destination while carrying obviously urgent documents. Others took a meandering path across the office, as if bobbing on the surface of an invisible river. Doyoung was staring at a particularly full carrier that seemed a wrong turn away from upending its contents over the head of an unsuspecting staff member when a hand waved in front of his face. 

He turned to face the delighted owner of said hand and couldn’t help the way his face broke into a smile. “Jaehyun!"

“What are you doing here?” Jaehyun asked beaming. He was dressed in a light green short sleeved button-down shirt tucked into navy blue dress pants. Even in his awful socks and sliders he looked ridiculously handsome.

“It’s probably not a huge deal but uhh.." Doyoung laughed, suddenly nervous. “It’s our anniversary? Two-month anniversary to be exact and umm. I made us lunch!” He raised the bag he was carrying to eye-level. Doyoung knew he was blushing and he was positively embarrassed at the fact. As he waited for Jaehyun's reaction, the bespectacled man tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. 

“You remembered..?” Jaehyun asked, mouth slightly agape. “That is so wild!” he exclaimed. With a wave of his wand, Jaehyun summoned a pastry box from his desk and opened it with a flourish.

Inside were nine carefully arranged cupcakes with words and numbers written on them in clumsy frosting letters.

HA PP Y

2 MON THS

2 U S

“Happy two months to United States?” Doyoung asked, confused.

“What? No! It says ‘Happy two months to _us_! Cos it’s our anniversary!” Jaehyun was blushing hard and Doyoung couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled past his lips. Was it possible for your chest to _ache_ with affection for someone? Because that was what Doyoung was feeling.

Johnny cooed at Jaehyun (which only made him blush harder) before loudly ushering them both out of the office with strict orders for Jaehyun to take a two-hour lunch break.

“I’ll cover for you!” Johnny insisted. “Enjoy your anniversary lunch, lovebirds!"

* * *

“Why haven’t you asked him?”

Jaehyun could feel Eunwoo’s piercing gaze on the back of his head as he lay face-down on his couch.

Jaehyun and his friends were at his apartment. They’d just had an afternoon playing Quidditch with some old friends from school and now the four of them were freshly-showered and chilling in his living room while waiting for the rice to cook.

“Yeah, Jae. Why haven’t you asked Doyoung to be your boyfriend? You obviously like him. And he likes you too,” Mingyu added.

_I’m scared._

Jaehyun flopped onto his back and heaved a sigh. “What with have is too good. And too _new_. I don’t want to mess that up.”

Jaehyun rubbed his face in frustration. “It’s one thing if he rejects me outright. I think I could bounce back from that eventually and we could keep being friends. What scares me the most is if he says yes. And we get together.. And then we break up. It’s so much harder to stay close friends after a break-up. Even if we end on good terms. What if we stay friends but it’s not the same between us?” Just the thought of it created a heaviness in Jaehyun’s chest. "I don’t want to us to become strangers again. Not after we just found each other.”

For a while, no one said a word. 

“You’re in love with him aren’t you?” Jungkook asked, his soft voice breaking the sobering silence.

Jaehyun turned and smiled weakly at Jungkook. Jungkook could be socially awkward at times but he was intuitive. “I think I am.”

Jungkook returned Jaehyun’s smile. He reached out to thread his fingers through Jaehyun’s. Jungkook was always quick to comfort with physical touch.

“You’re confused.. But I get the sense that in your heart of hearts, the choice is clear. All that’s left is a leap of courage.” Jungkook squeezed Jaehyun’s fingers. “You’re Gryffindor, Jae. Even if you forget sometimes.”

"You’re braver than you think.”

* * *

Doyoung and Jaehyun were seated cross-legged on a mat in the middle of a field not far from WWN. The weather was warm but not uncomfortably so and the summer breeze was a welcome reprieve from the heat, which meant that the conditions were perfect for an open-air lunch. They had just finished polishing off Doyoung’s ttukbaegi-bulgogi and half the cupcakes. Jaehyun practically inhaled the ttukbaegi-bulgogi, declaring it the best he ever had. Doyoung's heart did a little somersault of joy and he felt silly for worrying that Jaehyun wouldn't like his cooking.

Jaehyun had refused to change into some proper shoes and was lounging on the mat in his socks. His sliders were holding down two corners of the mat.

"My leather brogues are for meetings only, Doyoung. My sliders are good enough for all other activities on company time," Jaehyun explained. "Besides, they're from Gucci."

"What's Gucci?"

"We're Gucci," Jaehyun replied, giggling at his own joke which Doyoung didn't understand.

Doyoung quirked an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Is this an American joke?"

"It's a muggle joke. You purebloods wouldn't get it,” Jaehyun replied, bumping his shoulder into Doyoung’s playfully.

Doyoung rolled his eyes, fighting a smile as he watched Jaehyun take another bite of his cupcake.

Seeing him like this, relaxed and happy with the wind ruffling his hair and and his eyes curved in a smile just for Doyoung, the bespectacled man felt the strong urge to kiss him. 

Doyoung gulped and averted his gaze. He suddenly felt warm underneath his collar.

“Hey, umm. Doyoung? Can I tell you something?” There was an hint of hesitation in Jaehyun’s voice that was uncharacteristic of him. Doyoung looked at him in silent question and nodded.

“Before I start I just want to say I’m not expecting anything.” Jaehyun’s whole body was oddly still. He had looked relaxed just a moment ago but now he looked like a tightly coiled spring. “I just want to be honest with you. Because you deserve nothing less than honesty.” He took a deep breath.

“I like you. Platonically of course, but romantically as well. And I was wondering if.. if you’d like for us to be together. As boyfriends.”

Doyoung was stunned speechless.

“I haven’t told this to anyone,” Jaehyun continued. “But the night before I met you, I dreamt about the love of my life. I couldn’t see his face in my dream but I knew he was smart and a good person and he felt like someone I knew before. In the dream, we even talked about going to a museum together and- these days I wonder if it was you in that dream. It feels like fate when I think about it that way.“ Jaehyun laughed bashfully.

“It could be a simple coincidence though, that dream. Though honestly even if I hadn’t had that dream, I would still end up here, confessing to you.”

“I have a lot of work commitments,” Doyoung said. His own voice felt hollow and unfamiliar to his own ears. “And when it gets too much I can barely pay attention to my needs sometimes, let alone a partner’s. I get snappish when I’m tired, which is very often and-“

“I'm in love with you,” Jaehyun interrupted. His eyes were brimming with so much emotion. Doyoung found it hard to breathe. “I know it’s only been two months and it’s much too soon by anyone’s standards but. I love you. And I don’t know why you think that you’re difficult to be with because loving you has been the easiest thing for me. As easy as lifting my face to the warmth of the sun.”

Doyoung felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now. And you definitely don’t have to feel obligated to say yes.” He was still smiling so brightly at Doyoung, though his eyes were as watery as Doyoung’s felt. “No matter how this plays out I still want us to be friends. Can we stay friends?”

Doyoung reached out to cover Jaehyun's hand with his own. He nodded.

"Of course we'll still stay friends."

* * *

The following week passed in blur for Doyoung. He felt so distracted at work that even Yangyang noticed. Several times, his apprentice had to step in for tasks Doyoung ordinarily needed no assistance in. Like when Doyoung accidentally over-steeped the thyme leaves for their joint pain tea. Or when he misplaced an important invoice. Or when he forgot to liaise with the contractors for their new outlet.

Jaehyun continued to pop by the apothecary, either to have lunch or just to say hi. Not once did he mention his confession or ask Doyoung for his answer. It was as if Jaehyun had understood Doyoung’s silence on the matter as a rejection and proceeded to go about as if he had never confessed. It left Doyoung battling his own frustration. He hadn’t _rejected_ Jaehyun. But he didn’t want to say yes either.

_Did_ he want to say yes?

Maybe he did.

Or maybe not.

Doyoung’s head hurt.

He took of his glasses and started massaging his temples. Why couldn't his headache wait till the end of the work day before tormenting him?

Yangyang glanced at him from where he was standing in the perishables aisle, spraying some Mallosweet beans with oxygenating serum.

“Boss, are you like sick or something? You should see a healer. I can totally handle the store on my own, don’t worry about it,” Yangyang had told him. Doyoung smiled forlornly but appreciatively at Yangyang.

“Maybe I’ll head home early today. I'm not feeling my best,” Doyoung admitted.

When Doyoung got home, he washed and got ready for bed, convinced he’d fall asleep immediately, exhausted as he was.

Except he couldn’t fall asleep.

He tossed and turned for hours, his mind an awful tangle of thoughts.

It was true that he had never considered Jaehyun as a boyfriend. But now that the opportunity to get together presented itself, Doyoung found the idea.. not objectionable. 

It would be more of the same wouldn’t it? More easy company and comfortable chatter with someone who understood him almost instinctively. That sounded good. It sounded wonderful, honestly. Doyoung wanted that. But being boyfriends would also mean other kinds of closeness. Building a future together, sexual intimacy..

It was all too much to think about on a Thursday night.

Doyoung groaned. Then he grabbed his glasses off his bedside table and rolled off his bed. 

Twenty minutes later he was back at the apothecary, now closed for the day and empty save for one Mr Kim Doyoung. He rubbed his eyes as he stirred his simmering pot of candle wax, mixed with potion that he had irrigated his own sinuses with. Doyoung had had quite enough of struggling to sleep. He figured making himself a Soothing Candle would help.

Soon, the air of the workshop space was infused with the scent of his personalised Soothing Candle. Doyoung stared disbelievingly at the wax mixture in front of him.

He couldn’t believe it.

* * *

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Jaehyun looked up from his magazine to glare at his front door. Then he looked to the clock hanging in his living room.

It was half past midnight. He didn’t really have an unexpected visitor at half past midnight did he?

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

Jaehyun sighed. Clearly, he did.

He got up from his couch and strode towards the front door, wand in hand. Jaehyun lived in a pretty safe neighbourhood but you could never be too careful. When he peeked through the keyhole, he gasped and unlocked door, practically slamming it open in his haste.

“ _Doyoung_?” Jaehyun exclaimed.

“It smells like lavender and citrus!” Doyoung looked harried. His hair was in disarray and he was in his pyjamas. In his left hand was a brand new Soothing Candle in a glass jar. 

"What smells like lavender and citrus?!”

“My candle!” Doyoung yelled, like it should be obvious. He was holding a wax candle in front of him with outstretched hands.

“O.. kay? Can you please come in first? Why are you in your pyjamas? You’re not even wearing a coat.”

Doyoung made a frustrated sound at the back of his throat, as if Jaehyun worrying about him was annoying somehow. Jaehyun felt so hopelessly confused. Instead of replying, Doyoung came inside and shut the door behind him. He took Jaehyun’s hand in his and marched them both to Jaehyun’s bedroom.

Jaehyun had to admit, in those secret moments when he was alone and he imagined Doyoung taking him to bed, it was more sexy and less.. perplexing.

Once inside his bedroom, Doyoung let go of his hand and snatched Jaehyun’s Soothing Candle off his bedside table. With one candle in each hand, he stood before Jaehyun, who was trying to focus on figuring out what Doyoung needed and not get distracted by the fact that Doyoung! Was in his bedroom! At night!

Doyoung held out Jaehyun’s Soothing Candle to Jaehyun’s face. “Smell this,” Doyoung instructed firmly. To Jaehyun’s dismay, he found Doyoung's strictness kind of hot.

Jaehyun sniffed the candle with a raised brow. “Yeah, this is my candle alright.”

“Now smell this. This is _my_ Soothing Candle.” Doyoung held out the other brand new candle.

Jaehyun inhaled. “Lavender and citrus, just like you said,” Jaehyun pointed out, still not understanding what conclusion Doyoung wanted him to draw. “They smell the same if you ask me.”

“ _EXACTLY_!” Doyoung cried. Jaehyun stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Don’t you see?” Doyoung whined. “The potion you irrigate your sinuses with will identify scents most soothing to you. Perfectly personalised! It draws on the person’s natural preferences for certain scents and even memories associated with scent. It’s almost impossible for two people to get identical scents for their candle.”

“I’ve only ever smelt this particular combination of lavender and citrus from your candle. And I can smell traces of your candle’s scent whenever I come over. When I'm in your apartment..” Doyoung gulped. Jaehyun felt frozen with anticipation.

“When I’m in your apartment with you, I feel comfortable. More than comfortable. I feel safe. And cared for.” Doyoung’s voice was trembling. “I feel loved.”

Jaehyun’s mind slowed to a halt.

“I'm going off-track aren't I? Talking about your apartment,” Doyoung said, letting out a watery laugh. “What I mean to say is, you are a precious person to me.”

“When you asked if we could be boyfriends, I admit that I was surprised. I hadn’t really given much thought to us being together like that. I was.. confused. And I've been confused for the past week, mulling over and over again what I wanted us to be. When I made my own Soothing Candle an hour ago, it made me realise that I had the answer inside me all along.”

“You're so deeply ingrained in my mind and heart that the potion knew to give me a scent that was uniquely yours.” Doyoung’s voice cracked at the end of the sentence. He was on the verge of tears and Jaehyun was too.

“I’m in love with you too,” Doyoung said, a tear rolling down his cheek. “If you’ll still have me, I want to build a future with you. And I want to be intimate with you. I want to love you as your boyfriend.”

The sheer amount of happiness washing over Jaehyun was novel in its intensity.

The blue-haired man took the candles from Doyoung’s shaky hands and set them on the shelf beside them. He took Doyoung’s right hand in both of his and, without breaking eye contact, placed the most tender kiss on his knuckles. Doyoung stared at him with parted lips, awe painted plainly across his face. His cheeks were pink and still wet with tears. Jaehyun _longed_ to kiss him.

“Oh, love. Of course I want to be your boyfriend.” Jaehyun didn’t sound as cool and collected as he had hoped but it barely mattered when the most gorgeous man in London was smiling at him.

“Also, not to be dramatic, but I might die if I don’t kiss you right this minute,” Jaehyun whispered.

In an instant, he had Doyoung in his arms, kissing him so fiercely that Jaehyun had no choice but to surrender to the riptide that was Doyoung’s passion.

* * *

Being Doyoung’s boyfriend was amazing.

Jaehyun had always known it would be amazing but before getting together, he couldn’t prove it. Now he could.

The current situation he was in was one of countless examples of how bloody amazing it was to be Doyoung’s boyfriend.

They were on Jaehyun’s bed and they'd been kissing for what felt like hours. Jaehyun felt lost in it, his mind processing nothing save for _Doyoung, Doyoung, Doyoung_. The way the older man had one hand clutching the fabric of Jaehyun's shirt, the other curled in Jaehyun's dark blue hair. The weight of him straddling Jaehyun's thighs and grounding Jaehyun in this beautiful moment. The mewls and moans that floated past his soft lips. And _gods_ , his scent. He smelt lightly of lavender and citrus, just like Jaehyun's Soothing Candle. Jaehyun body reacted immediately to it, relaxing as he inhaled.

They’d been together for a few weeks and had never gone beyond making out with their clothes on. They’d talked about sex but Doyoung hadn’t seemed too keen and Jaehyun wouldn’t dream of pushing it. Kissing was an experience in itself and Jaehyun wasn’t complaining. 

A high whine escaped from Doyoung as he broke the kiss and buried his face in Jaehyun's neck. Jaehyun stroked his back while still panting from their heated exchange.

"Jae..?" Doyoung mumbled against his neck. His voice was so small and vulnerable. Jaehyun melted just a little more.

"What is it, baby?"

Doyoung replied too softly for Jaehyun to catch.

"What was that? A little louder, baby. I can't hear you."

"I'm _horny_ ," Doyoung whined, his face still buried against Jaehyun's neck. "Can you help me..?"

Jaehyun's mouth felt dry. "O-of course! What do you need baby?"

"I want to suck your dick. And I- and I want-" Doyoung was facing Jaehyun now. The youngest Mr Kim was the loveliest pink all the way down to his chest and his lips looked tender from all the kisses Jaehyun had pressed into them. The front of his shorts was obviously tented. Jaehyun felt light-headed with want.

"I want to use the knotting condom. Want you to knot my mouth."

It was the first time Jaehyun experienced what could be described as a brain short circuit.

"Jaehyun? Jae?" Doyoung looked at him worriedly, cupping his face with both hands. "We don't have to. Did I make you uncomfortable? I'm sorry."

Jaehyun dragged his brain back from where it was running away with itself and shook his head vigorously. "W-what? No, nothing like that. You just caught me off guard is all." He laughed nervously and circled Doyoung's wrists with his hands. "You're so fucking hot you know that?"

Doyoung turned beet red and hid his face in Jaehyun's neck again, groaning. "Shut up."

Jaehyun let out a breathy laugh and stroked his boyfriend's black-and-green hair.

Doyoung had been working on his submission to the Amateur Category of the Annual Innovators' Convention for Magic-Assisted Adult Pleasure. Doyoung had explained to Jaehyun the progress he was making with his knotting condoms several times before and every time Jaehyun had to school his expression into one of careful attentiveness while fighting the feeling of arousal stirring in his gut. The fact that Doyoung's explanations were always delivered with clinical professionalism made Jaehyun even hotter and _may_ have feuled several fantasies of stern Inventor Kim Doyoung using Jaehyun as a pliant and willing subject for sex-related product research.

Doyoung summoned a knotting condom with a flick of his wand and soon had Jaehyun pressed into the mattress. He was kissing Jaehyun with renewed vigour and Jaehyun moaned, loud and needy, into Doyoung's mouth.

Between kisses, the young men slowly shed their clothes until they were eventually naked. Jaehyun’s mind was flooded with awareness of Doyoung’s bare skin on his, so warm and soft, Doyoung's arousal brushing against his thighs.

“Your legs are gorgeous,” Jaehyun panted. It was no exaggeration. Doyoung's calves were _thick_. Jaehyun could feel the corded muscle against his own slim legs. “Why do you hide them in your baggy pants?”

“You like them?” Doyoung purred, kissing down Jaehyun’s throat. “Bet you’ll like them even more when I’m riding your dick till you cry.” No sooner had the words left Doyoung’s mouth that he squeaked in embarrassment and buried his face in Jaehyun’s neck again. “Oh gods I’m so bad at bedroom talk. Forget I said that.”

Jaehyun could certainly _not_ forget Doyoung had said that because the visual it gave him was hot as fuck. Jaehyun didn’t know whether to laugh or groan and settled on a shaky exhale. He could feel Doyoung smile against his neck. “How are you so sexy and so cute at the same time? Come here,” Jaehyun said, coaxing Doyoung out of hiding and into another heated kiss. Doyoung moaned into Jaehyun’s mouth and caressed his cheek softly with his thumb. Jaehyun’s heart bloomed with adoration. It was overwhelming. The blue-haired man wrapped his arms even tighter around Doyoung and deepened the kiss, hoping Doyoung could understand in this moment how precious he was to Jaehyun.

When they broke apart, Jaehyun couldn’t help but stare. Doyoung’s pupils were blown wide and the shade of pink of his blush was Jaehyun’s new favourite colour. His lips were red and slick with saliva and Jaehyun couldn’t wrap his mind around how _he_ had done that to Doyoung.

“Okay-okay enough kissing. I need to suck your dick _now_ or else I’m not gonna last,” Doyoung declared, pouting as if Jaehyun was being mean to him and denying him cock.

“Please, help yourself,” Jaehyun said, going for cool and collected but sounding a bit more desperate than he meant to. He darted forward to press a quick kiss to Doyoung’s pout. Doyoung broke out in an affectionate grin.

Jaehyun arranged himself onto his back with a two pillows propped up behind him while Doyoung settled between his legs. With deft fingers, Doyoung rolled the knotting condom over Jaehyun’s erection and smirked- actually _smirked_ \- at Jaehyun before leaning forward to lap at the tip. Jaehyun hissed, hands flying to Doyoung’s head and fighting the urge to tightly fist his black-and-green locks. Instead, he forced his hands to retreat, settling with one hand clutching the sheets and the other playing with his nipples.

Doyoung paid no heed to Jaehyun’s wordless struggle. He steadied the base of Jaehyun’s cock with one hand, wrapped his lips around the head and slurped hungrily. A feature of the knotting condom was that any precum or semen produced by the wearer would stimulate the condom to produce it’s own secretions. Thus Doyoung would be protected from Jaehyun’s bodily fluids while still being able to taste fake “precum” and “semen”. Additionally, the flavour of the fake fluids would change during intercourse. This particular knotting condom was chocolate-flavoured. Doyoung licked Jaehyun’s cock eagerly, the taste of sweet white chocolate giving way to the nutty taste of milk chocolate with almonds before changing again to a dark chocolate flavour. He moaned around the dick in his mouth, dizzy with the thought of soon having to gulp down loads of chocolate syrupy “semen”. To say that Doyoung was pleased with the results of his research was an understatement.

The older man took his time dragging his lips up and down Jaehyun’s length, mouthing at his balls. He slowly worked his mouth over Jaehyun’s cock, sucking like he was starving for it. He had his eyes closed with his brows drawn together, looking almost painfully aroused as he took Jaehyun to the root. Every time Doyoung moaned around the dick in his mouth, Jaehyun couldn’t help but echo that moan, lost in the sweet vibrations and how _good_ Doyoung's mouth felt. Warm and- _oh_!

The condom was expanding at the base of Jaehyun's dick. Doyoung noticed it too. He drew back from Jaehyun's cock and moved to suckle at the rapidly growing lump. Jaehyun yelped at the feeling.

_The knot._

It was like an entirely new centre of sensation. Every slide of Doyoung’s lips and tongue over Jaehyun’s artificial knot was like a shot of electricity through Jaehyun. Jaehyun groaned loudly, delirious with the thought that he could come from just this.

When the knot had grown to a size Doyoung was satisfied with, he stopped suckling it and positioned his face over Jaehyun’s dick. Jaehyun was panting, grateful for the reprieve.

“I’m gonna let you knot my mouth now. Jaehyun. Jaehyun, are you listening?” Doyoung was using his deep Serious Businessman voice which absolutely did not work on Jaehyun cos he found that voice hot under regular non-sexual circumstances and completely arousing in the present circumstances.

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m listening. What is it baby?” Jaehyun replied, feeling a little drunk on lust.

Doyoung smiled fondly, seemingly despite himself. “I need you to put your hands on my head.” To illustrate the point, Doyoung took Jaehyun’s hands and placed them against his hair. Which Jaehyun appreciated for he doubted his ability to follow simple instructions at that point. “And I need you to pump your hips against my face if it gets hard for me to get the knot in my mouth okay? Just force it in, I won’t mind. If I need to tap out I’ll pull the tab at the rim of the condom and the knot will deflate immediately. So don’t worry about me.”

Jaehyun’s brain short-circuited again.

How could Doyoung say something so sexy with such a steady voice? How?

“Jaehyun? Gods, you get so dumb when you’re horny," Doyoung said, exasperated but endeared. "Can you please tell me if you understood me?”

Jaehyun nodded. His last brain cell allowed him that at least. “I understand."

“Good.” Doyoung beamed at him. “And remember, you can pull the tab anytime too if you want to stop this. Okay?”

Jaehyun nodded again.

“Good.”

And without another word, Doyoung wrapped his lips around the head, took a steadying breath, relaxed his throat, and descended over Jaehyun’s cock. It was mesmerising, watching Doyoung slowly envelope Jaehyun’s entire length in his mouth. When he reached the knot, Doyoung swallowed around the dick in his mouth and Jaehyun groaned, fisting the soft hair in his hands. The knot had grown to the size of a large strawberry and Doyoung was forcing his mouth over it, whimpering with the effort. It was partway in but Doyoung couldn’t get past the widest part. He released a high whine and looked up to Jaehyun with teary eyes, wordlessly imploring him to fuck his face.

It was like Jaehyun’s brain switched back on through sheer force of arousal. He steadied the back of Doyoung’s head with one hand, cradled the hinge of his jaw with the other and started grinding into Doyoung’s mouth. The sound of Doyoung's stifled moans filled the room. Doyoung’s whole body went limp, relaxing into the rhythm of Jaehyun’s hips. Jaehyun was panting harshly, grinding harder and harder but it wasn’t enough. The knot was still growing and soon it would be too big to fit past Doyoung’s lips. Jaehyun roared in frustration and thrust forcefully against Doyoung’s face, finally popping the knot past Doyoung’s abused lips. They moaned in unison. It was pure bliss. Doyoung looked triumphant, mouth stretched obscenely over Jaehyun’s cock and knot. Jaehyun stared at the gorgeous picture in front of him, trying to steady his breathing. He reverently traced the curve of Doyoung’s stretched lips with his finger. A stray tear fell from Doyoung's eye, his nose was leaking slightly and his chin was wet with saliva. The blush across his face was an almost angry red. Kim Doyoung was stunning. Jaehyun felt so lucky.

Doyoung brought a shaky hand to his own face and, without breaking eye contact, started massaging the knot through his distended cheeks. Jaehyun threw his head back and yelled. He could feel his orgasm rising sharply. Doyoung doubled his efforts, massaging harder and swallowing around Jaehyun, moaning continuously to send vibrations up his dick.

“ _Doyoung_.. Baby! AH!"

It felt like a dam breaking. Jaehyun’s orgasm roared through his body, setting him alight. His back arched and he yelled, feeling his orgasm all the way to the roots of his hair and the tips of his fingers. Doyoung whined, high and needy as he swallowed stream after stream of Jaehyun's “cum”. He gagged and struggled to take control of his breathing then continued swallowing. Doyoung pawed desperately at Jaehyun’s thighs, tears rolling down his cheeks as he lay there and _took it_. Not once did his hand wander to the tab to prematurely deflate the knot. In fact, he was clearly enjoying it, grinding his hips against the sheets, trying to get some friction on his neglected cock. Doyoung between his legs, naked ass on full display, nose pressed against Jaehyun's pubic hair, mouth stuffed full of cock, almost trembling with need. It was the most erotic thing Jaehyun had ever seen.

"I want to kiss you," Jaehyun blurted out, after he took a moment to calm down after his orgasm. He tugged sharply at the tab on the knotting condom, immediately deflating the knot. Jaehyun nudged Doyoung onto his back and covered Doyoung’s sweaty body with his own. Doyoung’s mouth tasted of chocolate tinged with blood from where his bottom lip had split slightly. Jaehyun reached between them and grasped Doyoung’s leaking cock, stroking it with a firm, quick hand.

Doyoung hiccuped, pumping his hips. “Jae?” He was gripping Jaehyun’s biceps so bruisingly tight, his eyes wide and pleading, brows drawn together.

“Come for me, baby. I wanna see you,” Jaehyun asked, increasing the speed of his strokes.

No sooner had that the words left his mouth that Doyoung’s eyes rolled back and he came with a choked off sob, shuddering. Jaehyun was afraid to blink. He wanted to sear this moment onto his mind forever.

He worked Doyoung through his orgasm before letting go, his hand now wet with Doyoung’s release. Jaehyun had the wild urge to taste it but he held himself back. That could wait till after they got tested. Doyoung’s eyelids fluttered shut as he swiftly gave in to post-orgasm drowsiness. He was quiet and yielding, allowing Jaehyun to gently wipe them both down with a Self-Cleaning, Self-Dampening towel. The knotting condom was tied off and disposed.

Slowly, Jaehyun maneuvered them onto their sides and spooned Doyoung, pulling a blanket over both of them. Doyoung let out a contented sigh.

“That was nice,” Doyoung mumbled, well on his way to slumberland. “Intense for our first coupling, obviously, but so, so good. Thank you.”

“It was good for me too,” Jaehyun replied, dropping a kiss to Doyoung’s bare shoulder. “I still can’t believe I’m dating the sexiest apothecary in London.”

“London and beyond, mind you,” Doyoung countered, no heat in his words. He yawned. Jaehyun cooed at him.

A few minutes later, Doyoung was fast asleep. Jaehyun fell asleep soon after, feeling like the luckiest wizard in the world.

* * *

“You really did that huh,” Hendery said. “You really got your boss a boyfriend to get him off your back at work.”

“I did!” Yangyang said proudly. “Now, don’t you feel foolish for not believing in me?”

“Not in the least,” Hendery replied, sipping his iced tea through a straw. Yangyang gawked at him. “You almost got yourself uninvited to Kun and Ten’s wedding!”

“Key word being ‘almost’! I _almost_ got myself uninvited from their wedding. But I didn’t. Cos deep down, Ten is a softie. And Kun loves me no matter what!”

“You are unbelievable.” Hendery sighed in resignation, lopping an arm over Yangyang’s shoulders.

“I am, aren’t I?” Yangyang said, his winning grin on full display.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's a wrap! This has been the longest fic I've ever written and the longest time I've ever spent on a fic. Can't believe I started this in January! WILD! Thank you so so much to everyone who has followed this story! And special thanks to all who have left comments! I eat that shit up like omnomnomnom.
> 
> Love y'all so much! Stay safe! Comments appreciated still! heeheee

**Author's Note:**

> Comments appreciated! ^^


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